Interview with rescuers – “The injured ran towards us screaming!”

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Water rescuer Christian Hafner (26) talks about the dramatic minutes during the mission at St. Andräer See in Carinthia.

mr. Hafner, how are you the day after the tragic incident at Lake St. Andrä?

It’s just awful what happened. Many emergency services are only now realizing what has happened – and that still needs work. It also helps that we are already in the next phase and focusing on cleaning up. We have to make our deployment site suitable again for the regular service at the swimming pond.

How did you personally experience the storm?

I’ve been a volunteer lifeguard here at the lake for 13 years, so I can say that I know and can estimate the weather very well. But what happened on Thursday was unpredictable. It was not even possible to inform the swimmers about the weather warning because the hurricane raged over the area within ten seconds.

How can you imagine the situation afterwards?

It was a big mess. People were screaming everywhere, then the first wounded ran towards us. A mother put her motionless daughter in our arms. It was horrible. My colleagues and I practically resuscitated from the first minute. A special credit goes to our young lifeguards. At the ages of 12 to 14, they cared for the injured so professionally and applied compression bandages in a way that some adults probably wouldn’t be able to do. Everyone together really did a great job!

How do you get rid of such memorable images or how do you process them?

First of all, we talk with our colleagues about what we have experienced and the operation is reviewed – as was the case on site yesterday. In addition to the crisis intervention team, the Red Cross also has specially trained employees who recognize stress reactions and pay attention to the emergency services. In conversations about dealing with stress after a stressful assignment, you can talk about what you have experienced, depending on how long you want and need. This often facilitates processing.

Source: Krone

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