Kong Spa presents the new 911 Canyon stretcher, the only one in the world designed explicitly for canyon rescue operations

Highly protective, light, buoyant, and easy to carry, the 911 Canyon is a unique product as it is the only stretcher for canyoning rescue operations. Specifically designed for river rescue, the 911 Canyon stretcher is equipped with a neoprene hypothermic fully waterproof cover which completely protects the injured person from cold water. The 911 Canyon is supplied with padded slings utilizing a rapid closing mechanism to immobilize the injured person and keep him safe and secure during the rescue operation. The 911 Canyon is easily disassembled into two parts to facilitate transportation. The accessories provided have been designed to adapt to different emergency and extreme rescue situations such as shoulder transportation, winch suspension, transport on wheels, and blades for snow transportation. The 911 Canyon stretcher features an aluminium chassis and fibreglass cradle, with a Lexan visor for head protection. The stretcher is 218cm long, 60cm wide, and weighs 23kg (complete kit). “Until now we had to use stretchers designed for other rescue operations and adapt them to canyoning rescue but we were never totally satisfied – says Giuseppe Antonini, Technical Director of the National School for Mountain, Canyoning and Speleological Rescue. We shared our experience and needs with Kong Spa and the outcome has been years of study, tests and engineering to develop a high performance product never seen before. This stretcher exactly satisfies all our needs”. Canyoning rescue operations are extremely difficult and complex: they take a long time in inaccessible environmental conditions with vertical waterfalls, frozen water and strong water currents. In addition to this, rescuers have to face significant psychological and physical pressure. Also Oskar Piazza, Alpine Guide and Heli-rescue technical Corps coordinator took part in the product development team working on the development of the 911 Canyon stretcher: “The aim of this type of operation is to rescue the injured person as quickly as possible and bring him to the first safe place accessible by helicopter or ambulance and transport him to the nearest hospital. The need for a specific stretcher for canyoning rescue began over 10 years ago and with the cooperation of Kong Spa we have achieved an important result. Today canyoning rescue operations will be faster and safer both for the injured person and the rescuers”. “It’s important for technical products to meet the standards of the professionals who use them in the field and Kong Spa decided to invest in innovation and in something which had never been produced before – Marco Bonaiti, Kong Spa Executive President says – We are proud of this product and the cooperation between our technical team and the professional rescuers. Years of hard work have now been well rewarded”. - Download the pdf 911 Canyon, an innovative stretcher tailor made for canyoning rescue operations   [gallery link="file" ids="2225"]