SE-HPS

By: Gustav Malmborg 2005-12-22

This image was shot by Norrlandsflyg’s rescue swimmer Gustav Malmborg as the police helicopter SE-HPS was practicing sling load operations with a Rescue Runner (a maritime rescue vessel) at the same time as Osterman Helicopter’s Bell 205, SE-JJK, was passing by.\\\\r\\\\nThe Rescue Runner in this picture is no other than “Rescue Oskar Andersson”, which is named after a conscript helicopter rescue swimmer that lost his life in a tragic Super Puma accident on November 18 2003. A fundraising, aimed to honour the deceased crew of the Super Puma H-99, was initiated by helicopter navigator Bertil Rystrand. The aim was to get enough money to afford one Rescue Runner (approx 300.000 Swedish kronor), but the support from the public proved to be so massive that six Rescue Runners, one per crew member, could be donated to the Swedish Sea Rescue Society (Svenska Sjöräddningssällskapet). The vessels were named after each of the crew members in a ceremony in Gothenburg on November 13, 2004.\\\\r\\\\nThe Rescue Runner is a small, fast, manoeuvrable and extremely rugged rescue craft developed in Sweden. It’s specially designed for PIW (Person-In-Water) rescues in rough sea and can be deployed from helicopters. The 140 hp water jet is capable of operating in speeds up to 35 knots and has a range of up to 130 kilometres.\\\\r\\\\nThe rescue helicopter H-99 was lost in a tragic accident during a practiced rescue operation near Rörö Island, in the outer Gothenburg archipelago. Six persons died and one survived. The cause of the accident has not yet been fully determined (December 2005). The police helicopter in this picture was actually involved in the search for survivors after the accident.