News & Views

Typhoon Carina: Helicopter Rescues and Humanitarian Response in the Philippines The Philippines, located in the typhoon belt of the Pacific, has long been vulnerable to extreme weather events. Typhoon Carina, which struck the nation with devastating force, was no exception. Packing intense winds, heavy rainfall, and causing widespread flooding, Typhoon Carina left a trail of […]

IRG have just returned from a base near Manila in the Philippines where they successfully completed an Underslung Load Training Course for the Philippine Air Force (PAF). Operating out of Clark Air Base in Angeles City, IRG successfully trained 4 pilots and 8 Rear Crewman to conduct underslung load operations safely, and effectively. 2 days […]

No matter which way you look at it, operating helicopters is an expensive business! A single base SAR operation will likely have multiple aircraft – each one costing several millions to purchase, insure, base (hangar) and role equip. That’s before you fly even a single hour! You then have crew, support and management salaries to […]

With many of the worldʼs modern cities being squeezed for space, an increasing number of high rise buildings are being built. It is estimated that the top 10 high rise cities in the world account for over 6,000 skyscrapers (buildings over 100 meters) alone. Even in older, more established major cities in Europe such as […]

With the continued shift towards urbanisation – particularly in developing countries and economies, cities are being ever more squeezed for space.  In order to overcome the increasing demand for office and residential units, and as land prices continue to increase, cities and developers are building more and more high rise buildings to heights that previously seemed unimaginable. […]

Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis The Pacific Ring of Fire is a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. The tectonic activity along the Ring of Fire results in about 90% of the world’s earthquakes, including the Valdivia Earthquake of Chile in 1960, the strongest ever recorded earthquake […]

Managing Director, Martin McGrath, recently wrote a blog post describing the Pacific Ring of Fire and how it effects the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Well, it seems that its seismic activity has increased over recent days. The UK’s Daily Mail online edition posted this report today: We can’t stop them… but we […]

Typhoon Mangkhut and Hurricane Florence – two major storms, 9,000 miles apart. Two of the year’s biggest storms (probably!) made landfall this weekend; Hurricane Florence hitting the Carolina’s in the South East United States, and Typhoon Mangkhut sweeping through the Northern Philippines and on to Hong Kong and South East China. Typhoon Mangkhut has been […]

Time is arguably the most crucial factor associated with emergency rescue situations. Did you know that the Heli-Basket® HB2000has a 15 person transport capacity? Imagine the critical time saved when rescue capacity is multiplied by fifteen! Benefits of the Heli-Basket® HB2000 include: Carries over 2,000kgs or a 15 person rescue capacity Can access all locations […]

On 25 January, in the heartland of Brazilian mining, a dam collapsed releasing 11.7 million cubic metres of toxic mud. A month on, bodies are still being found. Few will have missed the news reports describing the devastation caused by the dam collapse on 25 January 2019. Actual footage of the collapse can be found […]

A cyclone feared to have left a thousand dead in Mozambique is possibly the worst weather disaster ever to hit the southern hemisphere, the UN has declared, Sky News Reports Some 1.7 million people were said to have been in the path of 105 mph Cyclone Idai in the East African nation while hundreds of […]

IRG was delighted to be included in the april 2019 edition of Airmed & Rescue Magazine. SAR KIT – FINDING THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB The feature discusses current and alternative pieces of equipment available to SAR agencies and includes a ‘Rescue Basket’ section which references the Heli-Basket HB2000 15 person Multi Person Helicopter […]