iPhone 14 satellite rescue feature prompts challenging canyon rescue

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in iPhone
After getting stranded 300 feet into a canyon in Southern California, a pair of victims were able to contact emergency responders using the emergency satellite communications features of the iPhone 14.

Emergency SOS via Satellite
Emergency SOS via Satellite


On Tuesday, the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's station received an alert from Apple Emergency centers, notifying them of a crash in the Angeles National Forest. A vehicle had gone off the side of the road and 300 feet down into a canyon.

Fortunately, the pair inside, a man and woman in their 20s, had mild to moderate injuries and could pull themselves from the vehicle.

According to a Twitter thread by the Montrose Search & Rescue Team, the victims had no cellular service in the canyon. Using their iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via Satellite, they contacted one of Apple's emergency call centers via text.

The call center then relayed information about the pair, as well as their location.

Deputies, Fire Notified of Vehicle Over the Side Via iPhone Emergency Satellite Service

This afternoon at approximately 1:55 PM, @CVLASD received a call from the Apple emergency satellite service. The informant and another victim had been involved in a single vehicle accident pic.twitter.com/tFWGMU5h3V

-- Montrose Search & Rescue Team (Ca.) (@MontroseSAR)


First responders were able to deploy a helicopter to airlift the pair out of the canyon and to a local hospital.

The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is handy in these sorts of situations. Not only can it work without cellular service, but it allows the victims to relay important information about their situation.

Satellite communications require an open sky, and action by the summoner. The phone gives a prompt on where the user must point the iPhone to connect to the satellite, and the communications take time.

Information provided could include details about injuries, whether the victim is lost or trapped in an area, and what supplies the victims may have on hand. It also relays the iPhone owner's Medical ID and location.

This isn't the first time Apple's new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature has saved someone, either. In early December, a man used his iPhone 14 to call for help after becoming stranded in a remote area of Alaska.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,921member
    Is your life worth at least the cost of iPhone 14 ? I am sure lot more. Get your iPhone upgraded to iPhone 14.
    MadbumappleinsideruserBart Ywatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 8
    This feature is a significant reason why I threw a grand at an iPhone 14 Pro last weekend.  I still love my iPhone 8 Pro but it’s time to move on.  It’s a Pro so delivery delayed till Jan 4, c’mon Apple - get on with it!
    edited December 2022 MadbumappleinsideruserBart Ywatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    I mean these stories alone is reason to upgrade to 14 …
    Bart Ywatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 8
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    This feature is a significant reason why I threw a grand at an iPhone 14 Pro last weekend.  I still love my iPhone 8 Pro but it’s time to move on.  It’s a Pro so delivery delayed till Jan 4, c’mon Apple - get on with it!
    Just FYI, I was in TMOBILE website and seems like they have most 14 Pro models before Xmas…
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 8
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 656member
    wood1208 said:
    Is your life worth at least the cost of iPhone 14 ? I am sure lot more. Get your iPhone upgraded to iPhone 14.
    The vast majority of people have never been and will never go outside of cell service areas. The SOS feature is of no value to them. The more troubling side effect of this is people going to remote locations places ill prepared and/or inadequately assessing the risk of what they are doing knowing help is only an SOS away.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 8
    jimh2 said:
    wood1208 said:
    Is your life worth at least the cost of iPhone 14 ? I am sure lot more. Get your iPhone upgraded to iPhone 14.
    The vast majority of people have never been and will never go outside of cell service areas. The SOS feature is of no value to them. The more troubling side effect of this is people going to remote locations places ill prepared and/or inadequately assessing the risk of what they are doing knowing help is only an SOS away.
    This happened just outside LA. Hardly some kind of remote location.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 8
    jimh2 said:
    wood1208 said:
    Is your life worth at least the cost of iPhone 14 ? I am sure lot more. Get your iPhone upgraded to iPhone 14.
    The vast majority of people have never been and will never go outside of cell service areas. The SOS feature is of no value to them. The more troubling side effect of this is people going to remote locations places ill prepared and/or inadequately assessing the risk of what they are doing knowing help is only an SOS away.
    Well, even not very far from Prague (capital of CZ) you can find a place in forrests where there is no cellular, as it is former military space, nothing around… there it would get usefull after it is widespread…
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 8
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    jimh2 said:
    wood1208 said:
    Is your life worth at least the cost of iPhone 14 ? I am sure lot more. Get your iPhone upgraded to iPhone 14.
    The vast majority of people have never been and will never go outside of cell service areas. The SOS feature is of no value to them. The more troubling side effect of this is people going to remote locations places ill prepared and/or inadequately assessing the risk of what they are doing knowing help is only an SOS away.
    Lol, we found a guy whose life is worthless than a grand…
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