How to call for help in the Tatras: 985, the Ratunek app and what to tell the rescuer

The Ratunek app – install it in the evening, not on the trail

Ratunek is a free app for Android and iOS, created by the Plus mobile network together with TOPR, GOPR, WOPR and MOPR. It’s very simple: you tap the blue cross three times, and the app calls the mountain rescue number (601 100 300). During the call it sends the rescuers an SMS with your location (accurate to a few metres) and your battery level.

To work, it needs location (GPS) switched on. Install it and check its permissions at home or in your guesthouse – on the trail, with a weak signal, the download may fail. The app is in Polish, but the button is easy to use.

More on preparing your phone: apps for the mountains and battery and power bank in the mountains.

What to tell the rescuer

The rescuer will ask you questions – answer calmly, one at a time. Keep this list in mind:

1. Where you are. Trail name and colour, the last signpost or landmark (lake, pass, hut), and which direction you were heading. If you have a map app, give your coordinates.
2. What happened. Fall, injury, lost, hypothermia, collapse.
3. How many people need help and how many are in the group.
4. The injured person’s condition. Conscious, breathing, bleeding, able to walk.
5. Conditions. Fog, wind, snow, ice, darkness falling.
6. Your phone number – and keep the phone on afterwards.

Don’t hang up first. The rescuer may need more information. After the call, don’t phone friends unless necessary – the battery is now the most important thing, and the rescuers may call back.

While waiting for rescuers

• Stay where you are unless the rescuer tells you otherwise. They are heading to the location you gave.
• Stay warm. Put on everything in your backpack, sit on something (backpack, mat), cover the injured person with a foil blanket. Hypothermia comes faster in the mountains than you’d think – in summer too.
• Be visible. A brightly coloured jacket, a headlamp after dark.
• Helicopter. If a helicopter flies over and you need help – stand with both arms raised (the letter Y, “yes”). One arm up and one down (the letter N) means “no help needed”. Secure loose items – the rotor wash is very strong.

When there’s no signal

• Try 112 – an emergency call may go through another operator’s network.
• Send an SMS – it needs a weaker signal than a call.
• Move a few dozen metres higher or to a more open spot – in deep valleys, signal can appear and vanish within a few steps.
• Alpine distress signal: 6 signals per minute (whistle, headlamp flashes, shouts), then a minute’s pause and repeat. The reply is 3 signals per minute.

On the Slovak side: HZS and 18 300

In Slovakia, mountain rescue is run by the Horská záchranná služba (HZS). The number is 18 300 – from a foreign SIM, dial +421 18 300. 112 works as well.

HZS has its own app, “Horská záchranná služba”: it sends your GPS location, and since 2026 it also allows an SMS chat with 18 300 when you can’t talk or have a weak signal. As with Ratunek – install and set it up before your trip.

On the ridge and near the border your phone often connects to a Slovak network. TOPR and HZS cooperate – if you call the “wrong” one, your call will be passed on. What matters most is that you call.

Important: in Slovakia a rescue can be charged, and the EHIC card doesn’t cover it. Slovak media have quoted an average HZS intervention cost of several hundred euros, and a search or helicopter can cost far more. That’s why insurance that covers mountain rescue is worth having before you hike on the Slovak side: do you need insurance in Slovakia.

When to call

Don’t wait until things get dramatic. It’s better to call early – when dusk is coming, when you don’t know where you are, or when someone in the group is struggling – than after dark, in worse conditions and with a flat phone. The rescuer will judge whether a rescue is needed or advice over the phone is enough.

The best rescue, of course, is the one that never happens. That’s why a day plan, a turnaround time and deciding to turn back in time matter so much – as does remembering the TPN night-time ban.

Frequently asked questions

What is the TOPR number?

985 (from a Polish phone) or +48 601 100 300. You can also call 112. The easiest way is the Ratunek app, which dials the number for you and sends your location.

Does the Ratunek app work without internet?

It calls the rescuers and sends your location by SMS during the call, so it needs mobile network coverage and GPS on. Download and set it up in advance – there may be no internet on the trail to get it.

How much does a TOPR rescue cost?

TOPR rescues in the Polish Tatras are free for the casualty. It’s different in Slovakia – there you can receive a bill for an HZS intervention, which is why you need insurance that covers mountain rescue.

What is the emergency number in the Slovak Tatras?

18 300 (from a foreign phone +421 18 300) for the Horská záchranná služba, or 112.

What should I do if I have no signal in the mountains?

Try 112 and an SMS, and move higher or to a more open spot. If that doesn’t work, use the alpine distress signal: 6 signals per minute with a whistle or light.

Sources: TPN and Ratunek app information (ratunek.eu), Horská záchranná služba (hzs.sk), media (TVN24, PAP, Slovak news sites) – as of November 2026.