Two separate helicopter rescue operations in the Andes Mountains have highlighted the logistical challenges of emergency aviation at extreme altitude, as crews in Argentina and Chile extracted a stranded climber and a lost hiker in recent weeks.

In Argentina, a Brazilian mountaineer was evacuated from Camp Cólera on Mount Aconcagua—the highest peak in the Americas—on 22 January 2026, after becoming incapacitated at an altitude of approximately 6,000 metres. The operation was carried out by Helicopters AR using an Airbus H125 single-engine helicopter.

Because the terrain at that elevation did not permit the aircraft to land, the crew used a sling to hoist the climber, maintaining radio contact throughout the manoeuvre before descending to the Nido de Cóndores camp at 5,556 metres, where a medical team was standing by.

Diego Góngora, a partner at Helicopters AR, said the company had confirmed its ability to operate at that altitude before accepting the mission. "Not because we are overconfident, but because we have years of training and are supported by a helicopter that we trust completely," he said.

Góngora noted that in a separate recent operation conducted at 6,505 metres in temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius, density altitude calculations posed significant challenges for the crew.

Weeks earlier, in Farellones, Chile, a 25-year-old woman named Daniela Sáez was rescued near the summit of Cerro Leonera after spending two nights alone in the mountains, having become separated from her trekking group. She was subsequently diagnosed with hypothermia and dehydration.

Francisco Fluxá, pilot and managing director of Santiago-based Rotortec Helicopters, said the search was complicated by gusts of wind and variable cloud cover, with crews working within intermittent windows of acceptable visibility.

Mountain rescue services across South America widely use the Airbus H125, a light utility helicopter manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Operators say that its power-to-weight ratio gives them an operational advantage at high altitude, where thinner air reduces the lift capacity of rotorcraft.

Source: Airbus web story