Underwater search and rescue with ROVs: a tool already in use by lake police and rescue organisations in Switzerland
On Switzerland's lakes and rivers, every underwater search operation — whether for a missing person, a drowning, or the recovery of a vehicle or object that has fallen into the water — puts rescue teams and divers to the test under often prohibitive conditions: cold, murky, deep water with currents generated by hydroelectric plant discharges or wave action. Every minute counts, and every dive carries a real risk for those carrying it out.
The limits of traditional underwater search
Search operations relying solely on divers require long preparation times, a large number of operators to ensure mutual safety, and visibility that in alpine lakes — especially at depth or after a storm — can drop to just a few centimetres. Under these conditions, "hands-on" search becomes slow, exhausting and risky, and the area actually covered in a single dive remains limited.
The ROV as an operational search tool
A professional ROV such as the CHASING M2 PRO integrates exactly the features required for a search and rescue operation. The 8 vectored-thruster layout provides full omnidirectional movement, allowing an area to be systematically swept even in the presence of currents, without having to bring the vehicle back to the surface to reposition it. The 4000-lumen LED lighting, combined with the 4K camera with electronic image stabilisation, keeps the view usable even in murky water or in the dark — conditions typical of night-time or deep-water searches. An operating range of up to 150 metres depth and a tether of up to 200 metres extend coverage well beyond the safe limits of a scuba dive, while resistance to temperatures as low as -10°C keeps the device fully operational even in the icy waters of alpine lakes in winter.
A decisive advantage over traditional diving is real-time video transmission: the operation commander follows the search directly from shore or from a boat, assesses the area already covered, coordinates divers in the water and decides in real time where to concentrate efforts — reducing the number of dives needed and therefore the risk exposure of personnel.
Already in use by lake police and rescue organisations
ROVs for search and rescue are not an experimental technology: they are already actively used by lake police forces and rescue organisations in several countries, and this is precisely the application area for which manufacturers such as Chasing develop dedicated models. In Switzerland, where managing safety on lakes and searching for missing persons in water fall under the responsibility of the lake police and rescue organisations, these tools integrate naturally into the equipment of nautical units, working alongside divers rather than replacing them: the ROV explores, locates and documents, while the final intervention remains the responsibility of underwater operators when necessary.
Concrete applications on Swiss lakes and rivers
Search for missing persons — systematic coverage of large sections of a lake or river, even in conditions of poor visibility or strong currents.
Support for divers — a second "eye" in the water that follows and assists the diver, transmitting images to the surface team.
Locating submerged vehicles and objects — rapid identification of sunken boats, wrecks or objects that have fallen into the water, even at considerable depth.
Operations on alpine lakes — operability in the cold, deep waters of lakes such as Lucerne, Thun, Geneva or Maggiore, where human diving carries greater risk.
An investment in operator safety
For lake police and rescue organisations, equipping themselves with a professional ROV means reducing the risk exposure of their operators, speeding up search times and having video documentation of interventions — factors that can make the difference between a timely response and a delayed one.