Stretcher

A stretcher comprising:

• a sheet of a semi-rigid cellular material and having homogeneous surface layers;
• a plurality of hand grips in the form of recesses arranged along the edges of the sheet for carrying;
• and
• a pair of longitudinal channels running along each side of a middle portion of said sheet, said channels being adapted to receive stiffening elements having a flat cross-section with a substantially larger width than thickness, said middle portion having such a width so as to envelop a portion of the body of a person lying in said middle portion upon said stretcher being lifted by said hand grips, whereby said channels are delimited in a manner so as to be located substantially vertically when the stretcher is carried by said hand grips, and is arranged so that said stiffening elements are held with their cross-sections on edge when the stretcher is lifted, wherein
• said stiffening elements are divided lengthwise into sections which are arranged to overlap with their ends in their respective channels, so that stiffness against bending is maintained in spite of being divided into sections when the elements are kept on their edges in their respective channel.