Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation signs partnership agreement with french sea rescue organization snsm to provide volunteer lifesavers with the training and equipment needed to participate in helicopter rescue operations

de en fr

3 April 2014

The Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation today signed an agreement with the French sea rescue organization SNSM (Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer) to provide training and equipment that will enable the SNSM’s volunteer lifesavers to assist during helicopter rescue missions. The agreement was signed during the 4th annual forum on maritime safety organized by SNSM, in the presence of SNSM Chairman Xavier de la Gorce and the Executive Director of the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation, Georges Richelme.
Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation signs partnership agreement with french sea rescue organization snsm to provide volunteer lifesavers with the training and equipment needed to participate in helicopter rescue operations
Marignane, France
The Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation today signed an agreement with the French sea rescue organization SNSM (Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer) to provide training and equipment that will enable the SNSM’s volunteer lifesavers to assist during helicopter rescue missions. The agreement was signed during the 4th annual forum on maritime safety organized by SNSM, in the presence of SNSM Chairman Xavier de la Gorce and the Executive Director of the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation, Georges Richelme.

SNSM accomplishes its goal of saving lives at sea with the dedicated work of more than 7,000 volunteers based at 220 lifeguard stations along the coasts of France and its overseas territories. The SNSM lifesavers are frequently called upon to take part in operations involving national security forces or the French Navy and Air Force. The financial support made available to SNSM by the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation under the terms of this new agreement will be used to equip the SNSM lifesavers with the special skills and materials needed to participate in helicopter missions

As SNSM’s Xavier de La Gorce explains: “Our lifeguards are frequently required to work alongside helicopter crews when carrying out rescue missions. They also take part in joint exercises with SNSM’s partners to practice winching operations, which demand exact timing and precision, especially in rough seas. So we are all the more delighted to be signing this agreement with the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation today, because it will provide us with the means to train our volunteers and equip them with the necessary materials to optimize interoperability between the various participants in sea rescue missions.”

“Through this partnership, the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation wishes to support the selfless efforts of the SNSM volunteers who each day risk their own lives in order to rescue people in danger at sea,” said Georges Richelme of the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation. “It gives us immense pleasure to be able to help improve the personal safety and mission efficiency of the SNSM rescue teams.”

A total of 50 lifeguards will be trained under the terms of the partnership agreement. The first courses will be held in September 2014.

Further information on the activities of the Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation is provided on the organization’s website: http://www.fondationairbushelicopters.com


About SNSM

SNSM is a not-for-profit organization constituted under French law and financed almost exclusively through private donations. Its primary mission is to provide free rescue services to persons in danger at sea. Its over 7,000 volunteer workers provide assistance from the beach to the high sea. In 2013, SNSM lifeguards saved the lives of 7,625 people.

For more information: www.snsm.org


About Airbus Helicopters Foundation

The Airbus Helicopters Corporate Foundation was created in 2012 as a non-profit legal entity that unites the company’s humanitarian activities under one framework with a focus on emergency response; aid for developing countries; aid for those living in extremely difficult conditions; and youth development through the transfer of aeronautical know-how.

Media contacts:


Annick Avierinos
SNSM
Mob.: +33 (0)6 12 56 71 46
Stéphane Chéry
Airbus Helicopters (FR)
Tel.: + 33 (0)4 42 85 60 51
Mob.: + 33 (0)6 23 93 71 23
Lisa Dimino
Airbus Helicopters (FR)
Tel.: + 33 (0)4 42 85 51 31
Mob.: + 33 (0)6 99 07 13 50
Claas Belling
Airbus Helicopters (DE)
Tel.: + 49 (0)906 71 4565
Mob.: + 49 (0)151 68 85 49 39
Julia Sailer
Airbus Helicopters (DE)
Tel.: + 49 (0)906 71 2129
Mob.: + 49 (0) 151 26 45 09 97