Struggle against Climate Change at high personal Risk

Helicopter rescues fallen climbing activist – climbing partner arrested without reason

On Monday, a French activist fell down from a 8 metre high platform at a forest occupation near the clearcut border of the open cast mine Hambach. A helicopter brought the conscious accident victim to the nearby hospital. Another forest occupant was arrested by the police during the rescue mission and was held at the police station in Düren for several hours without reason. For 3 years, activists have been protesting in the Hambach Forest against Europe’s biggest open cast mine, which is located between Cologne and Aachen.

“Our yearlong experience, tutorials, training sessions and international security standards, show: We are professionals. The security of the activists is our first priority.“, explains Nina Wagner, climbing trainer and forest occupant. The activists now want to clear the case completely and search for failures in the security procedures. It’s the first serious accident since the start of the protest, which is held daily in the forest, elevated from at least 8 metres. “Our activists know, why they do their protest in the top of the trees. We are determined to resist the climate killer brown coal, even at high personal risk.” continues Wagner.

Though the rescue was successful, the activists are very concerned about the accident. “She’s in our thoughts, and we hope that she will recover from her injuries.” says Wagner. After the fall, the occupants reacted quickly and started to immediately perform first aid. While one team took care of the emergency call, another removed the barricades, which are normally in place to prevent an eviction by police forces, to clear the way for the rescue team. In the future, more stringent security measures will be in place in order to avoid another rare incident like this. The victim, which was able to speak directly after the fall, was brought by helicopter to the university hospital in Aachen.