• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechDrones

Here’s How Many Lives Drones Have Saved Since 2013

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 14, 2017, 1:59 PM ET

Drones aren’t always mentioned in the same breath as saving lives, but a new report from one drone manufacturer says they should be.

Civilian drones have been used to save at least 59 people in 18 different incidents around the world since 2013, DJI, a China-based company that manufacturers popular civilian drones, said in a statement on Tuesday. The company added that 38 of those individuals were saved within in the last 10 months thanks to rescue teams and civilians employing their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to aid people facing life-threatening emergencies.

Now, DJI says a drone is saving nearly one person’s life a week on average.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Drones are growing in popularity as more people look to take flight with small UAVs and explore the world around them. But the multitude of ways they’ve been used to save lives in recent years is staggering.

In 2013, for instance, a drone was used in Canada to spot a man who was lost in a “snowy field,” according to DJI. In June 2015, drones were used to drop life vests and ropes to two teens who were at risk of drowning. They’ve also been used to find a missing heart attack victim and look from above for flooding victims. In January, rescuers employed a heat-sensing drone to find kayakers who went missing and were stranded at night.

According to DJI, there might be many more instances like those. The company notes that there are many unreported incidents and some reports on drones saving lives don’t mention how many people were saved.

For more on drones, watch:

“Of particular note is a devastating series of floods in early December, 2015 in India, where various media accounts claim dozens of families, and up to 200 individuals, were spotted and rescued by drones,” DJI said in a statement. “We have excluded these lives from our overall total because no definitive count is available.”

Perhaps one of the more notable DJI findings is who is actually saving lives with drones. The company found that one-third of the recorded incidents included people who were rescued by civilians, non-professionals, or volunteers. In some of those cases, people were saved by bystanders who happened to have drones on the ready when an emergency was occurring.

While DJI cautioned that local authorities and emergency responders should be alerted to emergencies, it predicts that consumer drones could “continue” to deliver “a net benefit to public safety” as the technology becomes more popular.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Matt Rogers
CommentaryInfrastructure
 I built the first iPhone with Steve Jobs. The AI industry is at risk of repeating an early smartphone mistake
By Matt RogersDecember 4, 2025
21 minutes ago
work
Future of Work
AI is reshaping the rhythm of the workweek–and leaders need to pay attention
By David ShimDecember 4, 2025
26 minutes ago
Venmo
CybersecurityVenmo
Venmo says it’s ‘back up and running’ after hours of trouble sending and receiving money
By Audrey McAvoy and The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
26 minutes ago
Huang
Big TechWhite House
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang meets behind closed doors with Trump, then Republican senators
By Matt Brown and The Associated PressDecember 4, 2025
33 minutes ago
personalized
AIGoogle
Google VP says the AI revolution is just a matter of time: ‘The younger generation is really feeling like it’s a native part of how they work’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 hour ago
ServiceNow president Amit Zavery
AIServiceNow
ServiceNow’s president says acquiring identity and access management platform Veza will help customers track the whereabouts of AI agents
By Jeremy KahnDecember 4, 2025
2 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
6 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Scott Bessent calls the Giving Pledge well-intentioned but ‘very amorphous,’ growing from ‘a panic among the billionaire class’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 3, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 1, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.