A drone carrying a blood sample has fallen into Lake Zurich during the test phase of a medical deliveries programme.
No-one was hurt, but divers did not manage to recover the drone on Friday and the cause of the accident was not known. The drone was carrying a non-vital blood sample between a clinic and a laboratory on the other side of the lake.
Swiss Post said it was suspending its drone transport flights for Lugano and Zurich university hospital until the cause was found. It said “postal drones” have so far carried out more than 3,000 flights without accident in Lugano, Zurich and Berne.
Two hospitals in Lugano were the first to start using drones in 2017 to exchange lab samples. They say it saves them a lot of time, which can be vital in a case where, for example, a patient under anaesthetic needs a blood sample analysed quickly.
Source: swissinfo.ch