The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter and Australian Maritime Safety Authority Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia (RCC) are urging the community to dispose of their old distress beacons responsibly and not throw them in the bin or activate them to flatten the battery.

This follows an extensive search this morning on Sydney’s northern beaches when the RCC tasked the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter to locate an emergency signal being picked up by aircraft inbound to Sydney.

The beacon was eventually located at the Terrey Hills Waste Disposal Centre, with the helicopter crew landing at the tip and going through the rubbish by hand until the activated beacon was located.

During the search two other beacons were also located, one of these was still transmitting a distress signal.

“It is vitally important that distress beacons are disposed of properly,” said Westpac Life Saver General Manager, Stephen Leahy.

“People and organisations can dispose of their unwanted beacons at no cost by placing them in collection bins in any of the Battery World stores around Australia,” said Mr Leahy.

“Today’s search cost more than $5,000 which is ultimately paid for by taxpayers. It is becoming a regular occurrence for our helicopters to be tasked by the authorities to search for distress beacons that have been thrown away carelessly.”

AMSA’s concern is that resources are potentially being diverted away from real search and rescue operations when distress beacons are inadvertently activated.

“Last week, the Westpac Life Saver was sent to search for a distress signal which started in southern NSW. We were able to track it through southern NSW before we lost the signal. It was eventually found in the back of a semi-trailer that had arrived in Brisbane,” Mr Leahy said.

More advice about distress beacons is available from the AMSA web site: www.amsa.gov.au/beacons or by calling 1800 406 406.