Drone helps rescuers find missing person in forest near Talsi

On Saturday, August 29, shortly after noon, Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) received a call about a person lost in a forest in Valdgale parish, Talsi municipality. Rescuers used an unmanned aerial vehicle to locate the individual and safely guide them out of the woods. The operation concluded at 1:56 p.m.

VUGD reminds the public that anyone planning to go into a forest or bog should prepare for safety beforehand — bringing a charged mobile phone, avoiding going alone where possible, and trying to remember the point of entry into the forest as well as one's subsequent route, in order to reduce the risk of getting lost.

Fire in Liepāja

The same day, at 9:18 p.m., VUGD received a call about a fire on Talsu Street in Liepāja, where household items were burning across roughly 50 square meters in a two-story residential building, with a ceiling structure also burning over 20 square meters. The fire was classified as high-risk, and firefighting operations at the scene ended at 11:35 p.m.

No one was rescued, injured, or killed in fires over the past 24-hour period.

Overall statistics

From 6:30 a.m. on August 29 to 6:30 a.m. on August 30, VUGD received a total of 67 calls. Of these, 15 concerned firefighting, 33 involved rescue operations, and 19 turned out to be false alarms.