• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Apple iPhone Emergency SOS feature saves stranded man in Alaska

Home> Technology

Published 14:19 3 Dec 2022 GMT

Apple iPhone Emergency SOS feature saves stranded man in Alaska

Alaska State Troopers received the call at 2:00am

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

A new iPhone feature helped save a man who became stranded while travelling through Alaska on a snowmobile.

Apple unveiled Emergency SOS via satellite at its product launch in September, though it wasn't until November 15 that the feature became available for iPhone users in the US and Canada.

Available on all iPhone 14 models, the feature comes in handy in situations where there isn't any phone signal or Wi-Fi coverage, ensuring users can still get in touch with emergency services via satellite.

Just a couple of weeks after the feature was rolled out, Alaska State Troopers were notified that an Apple iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite had been activated.

The call came at around 2:00am local time on Friday (1 December) from an adult male who had been travelling via snowmobile from Noorvik to Kotzebue in Alaska.

Advert

He had become stranded during his journey and needed help, so local search and rescue teams, the Apple Emergency Response Center, and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator worked together to deploy four volunteer searchers to the GPS coordinates provided by the Apple Emergency Response Center.

The man was stranded on a snowmobile.
Martin Nielsen / Alamy Stock Photo

The man was located and rescuers transported him to Kotzebue, with no injuries reported during the search mission.

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, praised the feature as he pointed out that 'some of the most popular places to travel are off the beaten path and simply lack cellular coverage'.

Advert

In a statement made when the feature rolled out in the US, Joswiak continued: "With Emergency SOS via satellite, the iPhone 14 lineup provides an indispensable tool that can get users the help they need while they are off the grid.

"Our teams worked tirelessly to tackle a new set of technical challenges to bring this service to life, in addition to building a reliable on-the-ground infrastructure. Emergency SOS via satellite is a breakthrough service available only on the iPhone 14 lineup, and a new innovation that we hope will provide our customers some peace of mind.”

The man was rescued and taken to safety after sending the SOS.
Apple

Even prior to the rescue in Alaska, Mark Ghilarducci, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ director, said that providing Emergency SOS via satellite 'is an important breakthrough that will save lives'.

Advert

"The critical work being done by Apple to create innovative new solutions to support 911 providers and first responders is a huge step forward in protecting Californians and the broader public during an emergency situation,” he added.

Featured Image Credit: Apple/ Wavebreakmedia Ltd UC_D / Alamy

Topics: Apple, Technology

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
a day ago
2 days ago
  • 3 hours ago

    People are only just realizing what the 'G' stands for in 5G and it's not what you might think

    5G is used by over 1.5 billion every day, but what does the 'G' actually stand for?

    Technology
  • a day ago

    NASA explains stunning Earth phenomenon captured from ISS that looks like something from a movie

    ISS astronaut Nichole Ayers shared the incredible moment on Twitter

    Technology
  • a day ago

    Scientists make ground breaking discovery on new organism that gives a new perspective of life

    Experts accidentally came across the microbe while researching marine life

    Technology
  • 2 days ago

    Scientist issues warning the shortest day in history will happen in weeks as Earth's rotation is speeding up

    Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London, predicted when it will shorten our days

    Technology
  • Urgent warning issued as Apple automatically turns on 'dangerous' iPhone feature to millions
  • Apple announces release of new iPhone and it comes with 'breakthrough' feature
  • Expert issues warning to iPhone users as Apple is set to change key feature this September
  • Apple warns millions of iPhone users to update their phone immediately over extremely dangerous attack