Swiss air rescue flying injured US soldiers
Swiss air ambulance service Rega has been transporting injured US soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq to the US base in Germany, it has emerged.
According to the Handelszeitung newspaper, Rega has landed 17 times with injured US soldiers at a US base in Ramstein, Germany.
Rega did not want to confirm to whether the soldiers are being collected from Kabul or Baghdad.
“We always clarify the security situation of the destination precisely. The risk must be acceptable, otherwise we will not fly,” Rega communications director, Sascha Hardegger, told newspaper 20 Minuten.
He also underlined the fact that the flights were made for humanitarian reasons, to rescue sick or injured people, and were never part of a combat mission.
Rega earned good money from the US army for these flights, as well as gaining some important experience and medical and operational knowledge, Hardegger said.
Since Rega is a private foundation, the Swiss foreign ministry said the air rescue service did not require its permission to transport injured US soldiers.
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