Harrison County rescue crews take a deep dive with underwater drones

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – They swim, they send back video, and they can also save lives.

The Harrison County Fire Department is using technology to help with underwater search, rescue and recovery efforts with the use of two remote-operating vehicles. The submersible drone and its smaller colleague have been on duty for about a year.

“These are just like a drone you fly in the air,” explained Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan. “These are made to go underwater. They have cameras on them. The reason that we have these is primarily for search and rescue. If it’s a rescue, then absolutely, we can run it out, grab somebody or bring it back in.”

The smaller one can get into tight areas, while the larger one can go 12 knots underwater and has a range of 1,000 feet in multiple directions.

“The other thing we can use these…