Salvamont — Romanian mountain rescue (ANSMR)

Salvamont is Romania's only mountain rescue service. It is not a single organisation but a network of public services: under Government Decision No. 77/2003, county councils in counties with mountain trails or ski slopes set up county Salvamont services, and resort town councils may have their own local services. They are united by the National Association of Romanian Mountain Rescuers (ANSMR), which since 2004, together with Vodafone, has run the 24/7 National Salvamont Dispatch in Brașov.

How to call for help

Call the National Salvamont Dispatch on '0SALVAMONT' (on a phone keypad, zero followed by the word SALVAMONT; the digits are shown below) or dial 112. The dispatcher passes the call straight to the rescuers of your county. The official Salvamont app sends dispatchers your coordinates, altitude and battery level, but it works only with phone numbers registered in Romania; with a foreign SIM, phone instead.

When you call, give:

• your name and phone number;
• what happened (injury, illness, people lost);
• where and when it happened and how many people need help;
• the condition of the injured;
• the weather on site.

After the call, stay where there is mobile coverage and wait for the rescuers; give first aid, shelter from bad weather and keep the injured warm.

Area and services

County Salvamont services work in every mountain county — from Maramureș, Suceava and Bistrița-Năsăud in the north to Brașov, Prahova, Argeș, Sibiu, Vâlcea, Hunedoara and Gorj in the Southern Carpathians, and Bihor, Cluj, Alba and Caraș-Severin in the west. Separate local services operate in resorts: Sinaia, Bușteni, Poiana Brașov, Bran, Râșnov, Zărnești, Săcele, Petroșani, Lupeni, Uricani, Brezoi, Voineasa, Olănești, Cisnădie, Rodna and Vatra Dornei.

Good to know

• The same '0SALVAMONT' number also answers questions about weather and trail conditions — call before you set out.
• The Salvamont app does not work with foreign numbers — save the dispatch number in your phone in advance.
• Salvamont services are the bodies legally authorised to carry out mountain rescue; the dispatcher passes your call to the team of the county you are in.