MOBILE phone technology and social networks have been shown to save lives – and a case of a couple lost in the hills in Galicia has once again proven this to be true.
They had been out walking in the Fragas do Eume nature reserve outside the town of Monfero (A Coruña province, Galicia) with their seven-year-old daughter when they completely lost their way.
By around 22.00 they began to panic and called emergency services, but were unable to describe where they were as they were simply surrounded by greenery as far as the eye could see.
Although they were in good health, a search could have taken days, by which time they would have run out of water and could have suffered heatstroke.
Police told them to log into WhatsApp and activate the geo-tag, which normally tells a person's contacts where they are and is often deactivated when away from home for security reasons – so as not to tell the world that one's house is empty.
This immediately flagged up their exact coordinates to rescuers, who reached them within minutes and put them back on the right track for home.
