POPPY KHOZA: Doing good by remote control
Drones are proliferating in South Africa, doing everything from finding lost kids to spotting illegal immigrants
In April last year, a two-year-old girl went missing in Fochville, Gauteng. As temperatures plummeted and night approached, hope hung by a thread. Sniffer dogs picked up her trail but lost it in the dense maize fields. Time was running out and under normal circumstances, the search could have been called off, at least until daylight. But an uncommon hero stepped in: drone technology.
A commercial drone operator from a private security company joined the search, and when the dogs lost the toddler’s scent, the drone, equipped with infrared sensors, took over. After scanning the area where the child was believed to be, the drone located her, sleeping under some bushes. She was rescued, safe and unharmed...
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