The German Air Rescue Service, DRF, has relaunched its Internet site to raise the profile of the service. The new web site, www.drf.de, offers an interactive tour that presents panoramic pictures of a DRF emergency rescue helicopter and a DRF ambulance aircraft in action. It also provides information on helicopter types and the technical equipment on board them.

Website visitors can tour the operations centre at Baden-Baden/Karlsruhe Airport and an air rescue centre.

Director of the not-for-profit organisation, Steffen Lutz, says he wants the site to help attract new members. Not all the costs of the service are met by public health insurance funds.

While thousands injured in traffic accidents or suffering critical illness use the service each year, hundreds of patients are also transported to German hospitals from abroad.

Since it was established more than 30 years ago, DRF has flown 330,000 rescue missions and has partnered similar organisations in Austria and Italy to form the Air Rescue Alliance Team. Team DRF partners operate 44 Helicopter Emergency Medical Service bases and deploys 50 helicopters for emergency rescue and intensive care transport between hospitals.

TEAM DRF also owns four ambulance aircraft that it uses for the worldwide patient transport.