Six skiers who survived an avalanche near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday used the iPhone’s satellite emergency SOS feature to get help. The New York Times. Emergency SOS via satellite allows ‌iPhone‌ users to communicate with emergency responders via text when cellular or Wi-Fi is unavailable.


The skiers were able to stay in touch with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office for several hours while rescue efforts were coordinated. “One of my staff communicated with one of the guides for four hours, feeding information back to the Nevada Sheriff’s Office and coordinating what rescue could be authorized,” said Don O’Keefe, chief of law enforcement for the California Office of Emergency Services.

Emergency SOS via satellite is available on ‌iPhone‌ 14 and later, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Apple offers this feature for free.

Emergency SOS via satellite is credited with helping people in many off-grid emergencies, from car accidents to wildfires. This feature works in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA.

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