An air ambulance operator has come to the rescue of an Austrian couple whose car had veered off the road into a canyon in Heraklion, Crete.

WWW-Air of Vienna decided to carry out the rescue despite the couple having no insurance for repatriation and despite other operators refusing the job.

The accident happened in early September after Heraklion had suffered heavy rainfall – thought to

be a major factor in the accident. WWW-Air spokesman Gerald Zeller told EBAN: “The Austrian couple, Irene and Wolfgang, found themselves upside down in a 10-meters deep canyon. No one recognised this mishap, therefore the heavily injured driver – who had suffered contusions to the vertebrae – climbed back up to the street in an attempt to stop cars for help.”

Wolfgang and Irene, who herself had suffered life-threatening fractures to the first four vertebrae down her neck and other traumatic injuries, were taken to a clinic in Retimnon for initial treatment. That night, WWW-Air started to work on the case with the help of the clinic in Retimnon, the local travel agent of TUI and EuropAssistance.

Said Zeller: “Other ambulance operators had already refused the case due to lack of insurance. Neither of them had insurance for repatriation, only for hospital treatment.”

When WWW-Air’s jet – a Citation II C550 – arrived in Heraklion the following day, they found that Irene was not ready for transport, contrary to an earlier diagnosis.

Zeller explained: “In order to keep to our schedule and meet Linz airport’s curfew that night, our emergency physician teamed up with the hospital’s medical technician to perform three hours of additional emergency treatment.

“Another two and a half hours later the aircraft touched down in Linz. Thanks to the airport authorities, a quick turnaround was guaranteed to position the aircraft back to Vienna for another ambulance mission.

“All in all, the young couple saved themselves around e5,000, and also a lot of time due to the help of everybody involved.”