SARA (Severn Area Rescue Association).
The 200 SARA volunteers conduct Search and Rescue operations on land and water covering a wide area around the River Severn and Gloucestershire. SARA is a member of Mountain Rescue England & Wales (MREW) and trains to their standards.
Casualty care - All crew are trained in first aid. Some undertake specialist advanced training in order to be able to provide high levels of care and medical drugs to injured climbers and people in remote locations.
Cliff rescue - primarily on the popular climbing areas of the Wye Valley at Chepstow and Symonds Yat. The team covers the whole of Gloucestershire and similar techniques are used to rescue casualties from steep ground, such as quarries in the Cotswolds.
Winter Community Support - In times of severe winter weather SARA makes its specialist 4x4 vehicles and trained drivers available to support the NHS, ambulance services, police, fire and community services.
Incidents Attended in 2021 - SARA overall attended 113 separate operations, including during all the periods of Covid restrictions. These include 38 lifeboat callouts, 55 missing person ‘land’ searches, 22 inland water tasks and 4 rope rescue callouts - Some of these involved multiple disciplines.
