Australian lifeguards use drone to rescue 2 teens

Two teenage swimmers were rescued on Thursday with the help of a drone recently launched by the lifeguard service in Australia.

The remote-controlled device carried a rescue pod to the two teenagers -- aged 15 and 17 -- around 700 metres from a beach in Australia, in Lennox Head, a coastal town in the state of New South Wales, who were able to use the pod to return to safety, Efe news agency reported.

"I was able to launch it, fly it to the location, and drop the pod all in about one-to-two minutes. On a normal day that would have taken our lifeguards a few minutes longer to reach the members of the public," said Jai Sheridan of New South Wales Lifeguard Service.

Last month the New South Wales government had announced an investment of AUD 430,000 ($343,600) in a pilot project of drones to be used along the northern coast of the state.

--IANS

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