At 32 years old, Captain Rivera of the Air and Space Army is used to facing some of the most demanding search and rescue missions at the controls of its NH90 helicopter, a recently incorporated aircraft that has all the capabilities to carry out this mission 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in national territory. They are usually missions against the clock, where an immediate intervention marks life between fatality and survival.
A fatality that these days has acquired its maximum expression in Valencia. Mud and mud They extend as far as the eye can see, without knowing for sure what may be under the blanket of rubble that covers the entire affected region. The latest official figures point to 215 confirmed victims, although there is an undetermined number of missing people that the authorities are trying to limit.
A scene of desolation that requires eyes in the sky. Only in this way is it possible to make a royal composition of the extent of the horror, of the areas that a week after the tragedy are still most affected. This is where Captain Rivera comes into action, along with the rest of the crew aboard the NH90 helicopter that he pilots.
He is one of the nearly 7,800 soldiers from all branches of the Armed Forces deployed in Valencia and serves They got up when preparing for a new flight. “There are areas in which everything looks brownall mud…”, he admits regretfully. And he makes a long-term appeal: “I hope that when a few months pass, the population and everyone will continue to support them (the Valencians).”
Ask. Tell me, what is your usual job in the Air Force?
Answer. Different missions. The 24/7 mission that we have in national territory is search and rescue, and the usual crew is made up of two pilots, the rescue crane operator to lift and lower the personnel, two rescuers who are the ones who go up and down to the ground, and a nurse to treat the victim on the flight, in the cargo cabin.
Q. On board your NH90 helicopter, the one that is now in Valencia.
R. Yes. The NH90 was incorporated in 2022. It greatly improves the Super Puma, which was a good aircraft but was from the eighties. It has the capacity to carry 22 people in the cabin. It has a flight range of three and a half hours, up or down, depending on the mission and whether you put external tanks or an auxiliary internal one. It also has sensors that are used to search for whatever is necessary, a person or a vehicle, for example; and thus, once recognized, insert the rescuer.
Q. Tell me about when they activated you to go to Valencia
R. Initially, two crews and two helicopters left us pre-alerted on Thursday night, although I had already been here the days before. On Sunday I was at home, preparing a meal with my wife because some friends were coming. Around… 11:30 or 12:00 the squad leader called me: “We have already been activated, tell your crew and prepare a suitcase for three or four days.” We are based in Cuatro Vientos. My wife helped me pack my suitcase and took me to the base.
Q. What did she tell you?
R. I said goodbye to her, although it was very quick. She told me two or three times: “I’m very proud of you.”
Q. You meet your crew in Cuatro Vientos.
R. They gave us a briefing at Cuatro Vientos. The commander, the squad leader, was the one who had the most information. He offered us everything, we reviewed procedures, we saw that the weather was rather regular… and we took off.
Q. How long does it take to arrive?
R. It took us one hour and forty minutes from start-up. Since we took off, hour and a quarter.
Q. Where do you operate from in Valencia?
R. At the Jaime I base, in Bétera, a base with a BIEM unit from the UME and a helicopter battalion from the FAMET.
Q. What is your area of intervention?
R. Mainly we are working in the area of river beds, recognition of rivers, streams, ravines… A lot in the area of Buñol, Requena and the southern area.
Q. Tell me, what can you see from your helicopter?
R. The image is quite bleak. When it hit me the most was the first time I positioned myself for the first mission. We saw the area of the A7, the A3, from Chiva to Cheste… Your heart sinks, you don’t expect scenarios like that, so many cars, isolated towns, destroyed bridges… We all got off with our hearts in our fists.
Q. Very tough scenarios.
R. In areas where there is a stream, river bed or ravine nearby, you can see everything brown, everything mud, cars upside down with only the wheels visible. Outside of that, in the peripheral area of Valencia, the countryside, previously looked very flooded. But the catastrophic thing is what is around.
Q. It will not be easy to manage emotionally.
The NH90s of the 48th Wing continue to carry out reconnaissance flights and logistical support in the affected areas.
By land and by air we continue with Valencia.@Defensagob pic.twitter.com/D6UVnjEHhe
— Air and Space Army (@EjercitoAire) November 4, 2024
R. Not only because of what you see while flying, but also because of what you see on the news. This morning (yesterday, Tuesday) on television they were talking about two missing children, ages 3 and 5. I’m not a father, but you see it and… your heart breaks. People missing, dead, everything destroyed; We as professionals try not to let too much get into our heads to make our mission as focused as possible, but we are human and you stop to think about it.
Q. It is not a mission that one expects to carry out in national territory, in this case in Valencia.
R. We have colleagues who are on the same base with ground resources, general cleaning, health issues and distribution of food… They tell us what they see and… This mission is beyond what is expected, but we train every day and we have capabilities that I consider adequate.
Q. There will come a day when you have to assimilate everything you are experiencing.
R. This morning I had that thought, talking to a colleague who does work in the field and he said it himself. The thing is that now there are beginning to be some clean towns, in quotes, walkable and with light. But what will a return to normal life be like, if it is even possible? What will it be like in five months? Now we are all focused on adrenaline, but we must not lose sight of how these people are going to be. I hope that the population and everyone turns to them.
Source: www.vozpopuli.com
