Table 2.
Traumatic events experienced by Swiss mountain rescuers (N = 465).
| Sample N = 465 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Victim and witness N (%) |
Victim N (%) |
Witness N (%) |
|
| Traumatic event during an ARS mission | 331 (71.2%) | 141 (30.3%) | 313 (67.3%) |
| Once | 70 (15.1%) | 60 (12.9%) | 82 (17.6%) |
| More than once | 261 (56.1%) | 81 (17.4%) | 231 (49.7%) |
| Fall (e.g., crevasses, sports climbing) | 65 (14.0%) | 219 (47.1%) | |
| Helicoptercrash | 4 (0.9%) | 17 (3.7%) | |
| Avalanche | 67 (14.4%) | 157 (33.8%) | |
| Ice- or rockfalls | 46 (9.9%) | 69 (14.8%) | |
| Hypothermia or Frostbite | 7 (1.5%) | 44 (9.5%) | |
| Snow blindness | 1 (0.2%) | 3 (0.6%) | |
| Heatstroke | 0 (0.0%) | 6 (1.3%) | |
| Lightening | 11 (2.4%) | 17 (3.7%) | |
| Acute pulmonary or cerebral oedema | 4 (0.9%) | 19 (4.1%) | |
| Exhaustion | 5 (1.1%) | 47 (10.1%) | |
| Heart attack | 4 (0.9%) | 95 (20.4%) | |
| Drowning (effective or potential) | 18 (3.9%) | 46 (9.9%) | |
| Poisoning (e.g., CO2) | 0 (0.0%) | 15 (3.2%) | |
| Hypoglykaemia | 3 (0.6%) | 21 (4.5%) | |
| Fever | – | 27 (5.8%) | |
| Rescue death | 28 (6.0%) | 73 (15.7%) | |
| Number of different traumatic events [M (SD; R)] | |||
| Unexpected confrontation with body parts | 248 (53.3%) | ||
| Once | 78 (16.8%) | ||
| More than once | 170 (36.6%) | ||