The Indian Coast Guard on Wednesday carried out mid-air medical evacuation of a Chinese national aboard a Panama-flagged research vessel MV Dong Fang Kan Tan No 2, around 200 km in Arabian sea. According to the Indian Coast Guard in its statement, the vessel was en-route from China to UAE which is when the patient complained of chest pain and symptoms of cardiac arrest.
The operation was undertaken by Coast Guard Advanced Light Helicopter (CG ALH) and CGAS Daman in the dark hours and extreme weather conditions.
On Wednesday, the Indian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Mumbai, received information that one of the crew members of the vessel had a cardiac arrest with high BP and required urgent medical attention.
Communication was established immediately with the vessel and necessary telemedicine advice was provided. Considering the best feasible options for speedy evacuation and subsequent medical management, the patient was airlifted. CG ALH MK-III safely evacuated the patient from the vessel.
The patient was administered with first-aid and subsequently, handed over to the agent for further medical management. The exemplary operation undertaken by CG ALH and CGAS Daman during the night hours enabled saving the life of a foreign national at sea and reaffirms the Indian Coast Guards' commitment to the motto "We Protect."
This incident comes after a medical evacuation in which the India Coast Guard saved a critical mariner requiring immediate hospitalisation. Valid Ola Gilbert, a 55-yr-old Filipino had collapsed onboard MVEvelynMaersk heading to SuezCanal, 110Nm from Kochi. The vessel cast off from Colombo and was going to enter the Suez canal but a medical emergency occurred during the passage.
They received a call from Merchant vessel Evelyn Maersk that Gilbert fell unconscious and his pulse rate was very low. The medical evacuation was carried out from ICGS 427. The ICGS 427 recovered the patient and brought him safely to Vizhinjam harbor.