With some 80 pounds of equipment on the shoulders, including the call “jaw of life“, volunteer firefighter Rogel Mazariegos advanced through a wooded area of San Miguel Pochuta, Chimaltenango, after weather conditions prevented the helicopter from returning for him. “The people who were there at the scene and helped me get out were angels that God put in my path,” he said.
The case occurred during rescue efforts by the plane crash of the Beechcraft 35 Bonanza aircraft, registration TG-PIPthat It left its occupants dead in a difficult-to-access area in San Miguel Pochuta. Authorities reported that recovery tasks were complicated by vegetation, rain and the location of the incident.
During the program Direct Impactof GuatevisionMazariegos explained that he was activated as part of a second support group of the Volunteer Firefighters. Their mission was to reach the impact area and support colleagues who had remained on the mountain due to adverse conditions.
The weight, the fog and a decision: wait or leave
Mazariegos said that the weather changed while he was in the accident area. Visibility was reduced and the aircraft were already They couldn’t enter safely.. At that point, he said, he had to decide whether to stay there or initiate his own rescue.
“A lot of things went through my mind: staying to deal with survival issues in the place or simply self-rescue. I knew well that the weather was difficult, the aircraft were not going to enter, so I proceeded to self-rescue,” he said.
The firefighter explained that he was carrying specialized equipment because they had been informed that a person was still trapped in the wreckage of the aircraft. “We carried the so-called jaw of life, we know it as a cutter,” he explained.
According to Mazariegos, that tool alone weighs about 65 poundsto which were added the special aerial rescue harness, backpack, provisions and wireless clippers.
“All of that was approximately 80 pounds,” he said.
“They were shouting my name”: the sirens that gave him strength
The firefighter said that he walked for about three hours until he received support from community members who were already heading to the area. They, he said, gave him water, tortillas and helped carry some of the equipment.
“We, inside this uniform, inside this overalls, under this helmet, are human beings who also lose strength, we become dehydrated,” he expressed.
Mazariegos also recalled that a colleague, Oliver Piedrasanta, kept an eye on his geopositioning. In an area with a signal, he managed to send his location in real time. Then he began to hear sirens in the distance.
“They shouted my name, something that really filled me up a lot, it raised my morale, I felt like strength came into me and I continued leaving that place,” he said.
The rescuer described the area as a “wooded area” and “a virgin jungle,” where, he said, “no one had passed.”
The promise of returning to his family
Before attending to the emergency, Mazariegos planned to spend a Sunday with his family. When leaving, he only warned them that he would cover a service.
“I told them: I will return, but I don’t know what time. So they were waiting for me and I had to return because they were waiting for me,” he recalled.
The firefighter explained that he avoids telling his family the details of the emergencies so as not to cause fear. “As rescuers, as firefighters or as paramedics we enter unknown places, we don’t know if we are going to come out alive or lifeless,” he said.
For Mazariegos, the support of the community members was decisive. “On that mountain I saw the mercy of God and that he was with me,” he said.
The volunteer firefighter assured that the physical, psychological and mental preparation of the Air Rescue Section was key to facing the emergency. He also highlighted that rescuers recertify each year to continue in that specialized group.
Although he acknowledged that he has faced physically tougher emergencies, he said that this case marked him because of the uncertainty and extreme conditions. The operation in San Miguel Pochuta left, in addition to the pain for the victims of the plane crash, the story of a lifeguard who came to save and ended up fighting to return alive.
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