溶岩流の間に取り残された犬４匹、ドローンで救出へ　カナリア諸島

【ラパルマ島ＡＦＰ＝時事】先月１９日から火山噴火が続くスペイン領カナリア諸島のラパルマ島で、真っ赤に燃える溶岩流の間に取り残された犬４匹を、ドローンで救出するという前例のない計画が進められている。（写真はスペイン・カナリア諸島ラパルマ島クンブレビエハ火山の噴火で、大西洋に流れ込む溶岩）
　痩せ細った犬たちは、トドケ村にある二つの空の貯水槽の中で、何週間も身動きが取れなくなっている。貯水槽の両脇には、クンブレビエハ火山からあふれ出た溶岩が流れている。
　地元の動物保護団体「Ｌｅａｌｅｓ．ｏｒｇ」が今月初旬、犬たちの窮状に気付いて警鐘を鳴らし、ドローン企業２社を手配して餌と水を貯水槽に投下した。犬たちはすっかり体重が減ってしまっているという。
　この団体は、スペインの産業用ドローン企業「Ａｅｒｏｃａｍａｒａｓ」に協力を仰ぎ、貨物輸送用の大型ドローンで犬を安全な場所まで運べないか相談した。
　Ｌｅａｌｅｓ．ｏｒｇのアレハンドロ・モリナ氏によると、犬たちの元へたどり着くには灼熱（しゃくねつ）の溶岩の上を通らなければならないため、徒歩での救出は不可能だ。ヘリコプターで現地まで行くことも、火山灰や火山ガスにより回転翼に損傷を与える恐れがありできないという。
　Ａｅｒｏｃａｍａｒａｓのチームは地元当局から犬の救出作戦を実行する許可を得て、１８日に現地入りした。ハイメ・ペレイラ最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）によれば、大きな網を取り付けた重量５０キロのドローン１機を飛ばし、犬を１匹ずつ捕獲して安全な場所に移動させる計画だ。
　ただ、「生きた動物をドローンで輸送した経験は、われわれにもないし、誰にもない」と民放テレビ局テレシンコに語っている。救出作戦の実行日はまだ決まっていない。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/10/22-14:41）

An unprecedented drone operation was being prepared Wednesday to rescue four dogs stranded for weeks between rivers of red-hot lava streaming from an erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma.
The emaciated dogs are stranded in two empty water tanks in the town of Todoque, flanked by slow moving lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano that erupted on September 19.
The molten rock has so far covered over 760 hectares (1,885 acres) of land and destroyed around 2,000 buildings although prompt evacuations have helped avoid fatalities in the island, part of the Canary Islands off northwest Africa.
On its way to the Atlantic Ocean, the lava has spared a few areas by creating islands of land that remain relatively unharmed such as the spot where the dogs are.
Local animal association Leales.org sounded the alarm after it became aware of the plight of the dogs in early October, and arranged for two drone firms to drop of food and water for the animals, which have lost weight since becoming trapped.
It also approached Spanish industrial drone operator Aerocameras to see if it could use one of its larger machines normally used to transport cargo to pluck the dogs to safety.
Reaching the animals on foot is impossible as this would require walking on scorching lava and helicopters cannot fly in the area because the ash and hot gas from the volcano could damage their rotors, said Leales.org spokesman Alejandro Molina.
This is the only way to do it, he told AFP.
An Aerocameras crew arrived on the island on Monday after receiving the green light from local authorities to carry out the rescue operation. Under Spanish law drones are normally not allowed to transport people or animals.
The company's CEO Jaime Pereira said the plan was to send a 50 kilo (110 pounds) drone equipped with a wide net to trap the dogs one by one and then fly them to safety.
We don't have experience transporting a live animal by drone, nor does anyone, he told private television Telecinco.
- 'All sorts of risks' -
The success of the mission will depend largely on how the dogs respond to the drone, he added.
The dog could react by running away, moving, jumping, Pereira said.
There are those who say that the dog could fracture a bone, have a heart attack. Of course there are all sorts of risks but either we get them out or probably in a few days or weeks they will no longer exist.
No date has been set for the rescue operation. Aerocameras, which is carrying out the operation for free, staged a trial run on Wednesday.
A man has come forward as the owner of the dogs, Molina said. If the operation is succesful and the dogs have microchips which confirm he is the owner, they will be returned to him, he added.