On 1 December 2024, a tragic car accident on the RN 320 in Porté-Puymorens put cross-border rescue systems to the test. A Spanish coach returning from Andorra hit a rock face, killing two women and wounding 46 others, including several miners. The management of this disaster has involved considerable human and logistical resources on both sides of the border, illustrating both the need for and the challenges of cross-border emergency cooperation.
A large-scale mobilization with cross-border dimensions
From the first reports at 5 pm, the Departmental Fire and Rescue Operational Centre (CODIS) of the Pyrénées-Orientales coordinated a massive intervention. Nearly 200 firefighters, SDIS 66, 09 and 11, but also personnel from Catalonia and Andorra, were sent to the site.
Thus, the SEM has mobilized 8 USVB (Basic Care Unit), 5 USVA (Survival Intensive Care Unit), 1 medicalized helicopter, 2 public transport ambulances, 3 emergency psychologists and 5 leaders.
This impressive deployment was crucial in getting the wounded to the nearest hospitals. The cross border hospital in Puigcerdà, Catalonia, played a key role in the initial treatment before the most serious cases were transferred to Toulouse, Perpignan or Barcelona.
The structuring role of the SA-URG project in cross-border cooperation
This accident highlighted the importance of the SA-URG project, funded by the POCTEFA programme. This project aims to improve the coordination of health relief between France, Spain and Andorra by overcoming administrative and technical barriers that sometimes slow down interventions.
The bus accident has required the implementation of the actions promoted by the SA-URG project: .
- Cooperation between the SAMU of Perpignan and the Catalan EMS to organize the classification and orientation of the injured.
- The involvement of the Puigcerdà Cross-border Hospital, which has become the central point for emergency management.
- The use of air and ground resources from several French departments: Hérault, Ariège, Haute-Garonne (with a pediatric team) and Aude, allowing faster transport of victims to specialized centers.
However, this accident also revealed the necessary improvements in the management and cross-border care of health emergencies:
- Differences in relief regulation systems between France and Spain, resulting in delays in initial coordination.
- The lack of a single protocol for sharing medical data, which complicates patient follow-up during transfers from one country to another.
- The need to improve digital and communication tools to facilitate the exchange of information in real time.
Need to strengthen cross-border agreements on emergency matters
In response to the lessons learned from this accident, the health authorities on both sides of the Pyrenees reaffirmed the need to finalize and sign cross-border agreements between the various actors in order to:
- 1. Standardize intervention procedures and train teams.
- 2. Improve coordination between teams from different territories.
- 3. Improve the interoperability of digital tools to share patient data securely and instantaneously.
- 4. Organize joint exercises between the first responders of the three countries to better anticipate upcoming crises.
An accident revealing the challenges of cross-border cooperation
The Porté-Puymorens accident has shown that Pyrenean cross-border cooperation in the field of emergency relief is a reality, but still very much perfectible. Thanks to the SA-URG project, the actors of emergency health care and relief of the border territories continue their work to build a more fluid, more reactive and better coordinated intervention model.