Thermal drone locates two missing hikers on Sharp Top Mountain on Christmas

A thermal drone from the Bedford Fire Department located two missing hikers on Sharp Top Mountain in Virginia on Christmas day. The thermal camera on the drone allowed the fire department to quickly find the lost people.

Thermal drone locates two missing hikers on Sharp Top Mountain on Christmas

On Saturday a Thermal Drone from the Bedford Fire Department quickly located two missing hikers on Sharp Top Mountain. On Christmas day Firefighters were equipped with drones to establish a command post along a trail leading to the peak. When the drone was launched, infrared camera imagery quickly identified the hikers.

According to Bedford officials, rescuers on the ground tracked the drone's location and discovered two guys who had started out on the trails before dusk without sufficient illumination or emergency supplies. There were no injuries recorded, according to Fox News.

According to the National Park Service, it is one of the most popular paths in Virginia, with a difficult climb up to the 3,875-foot rocky top.

“For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, hikers have been drawn to this mountain. The 1.5-mile walk climbs 1,300 vertical feet through the woods to provide breathtaking 360-degree views of the Peaks of Otter and surrounding terrain,” according to the agency's website.

In our category Drones for Good, we keep track of stories like these where unmanned aircraft play a role in helping people in need.

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