Emergency response specialist Skyguard has launched the first-ever personal emergency service for British travellers and lone workers abroad. The company gives travellers the power to summon help at the press of a button if they find themselves in trouble overseas. Initially, the service is live across 34 European countries, the Russian Federation and South Africa.

Travellers can activate the emergency Skyguard International service using a key-fob sized device called MySOS. The MySOS is the smallest GPS alarm of its kind in the UK, and can be discreetly attached to keys, a belt or worn on a lanyard. Skyguard’s service also runs as an app on a BlackBerry, with the handset’s convenience side key acting as the alarm button.

Alarms containing the user’s location and identity go directly to Skyguard’s Incident Management Centre in the UK, where trained controllers can listen in, talk if it’s safe to do so and co-ordinate a response by summoning the national emergency services of the country in question, and contacting the victim’s relatives or employers. Skyguard customers can provide detailed personal information through an online portal, such as medical conditions, medications taken and even a photo, which can be passed to the emergency services. Skyguard, which launched in 2000, already offers a similar service nationally in the UK, used by thousands of individuals and companies. [www.skyguardgroup.com]