Kilimanjaro Search and Rescue (SAR)
What is Kilimanjaro SAR?
Kilimanjaro SAR is a helicopter-based search and rescue company operating on Mount Kilimanjaro.
The company was established in 2016 as the first and only such service in Tanzania. Committed to saving lives, Kilimanjaro SAR provides the most innovative and effective search and rescue service on Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru, and Tanzania’s National Parks and runs the only High-Altitude Medicine Clinic in Africa. Kilimanjaro SAR holds a world-leading response time in civil search and rescue companies of a 5- minute response after receiving a distress call.
Peak Planet now offers Kilimanjaro SAR Evacuation Insurance free of charge on all of our Kilimanjaro climbs. In rare situations, where evacuation on foot or stretcher is insufficient, Kilimanjaro SAR will be called for helicopter evacuation during emergencies. The climber will be taken to one of several viable hospitals.
To initiate the rescue, our guide will contact our staff in Moshi using the Garmin InReach satellite communication device. Our Moshi staff will then dispatch a Kilimanjaro SAR helicopter to one of the two landing zones on the mountain. Meanwhile, our mountain crews will bring the injured or sick person to the landing zone.
Depending on the severity of the sickness or injury patients can be flown to several locations. For minor issues, they will be flown to a hospital in Moshi or Arusha. For more severe issues they will be flown to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. If the injury or sickness requires a more advanced team of doctors they will be flown to the hospital in South Africa.
IMPORTANT: In order for our clients to be covered by Kilimanjaro SAR, they must have proof of travel insurance.
Kilimanjaro SAR is an add on service that we register for our clients based on their travel insurance policy. For this reason, it is important that all of our clients purchase the required travel insurance and fill out their client form including their passport photo page as part of their booking. If we do not have your client information, we DO NOT register you with Kilimanjaro SAR and they WILL NOT come for unregistered clients.
Ivan Braun, chief executive officer of Kilimanjaro Search and Rescue (SAR) has recently ordered a second helicopter due to the increase in traffic. “The demand for our services is going up,” he said.
