PE: Sailor casualty evacuated:

Friday 15th June 2012.Port Elizabeth volunteers were placed on alert to be ready for a pending call-out following a request for medical assistance from the 320 meter oil tanker Saiq, sailing from Angola to Mauritius. Their 25 year old 2nd Officer, Akshan Kapur, from India was suffering abdominal pain and needed to be evacuated from the ship.Justin Erasmus, NSRI Port Elizabeth deputy station commander said that they were placed on alert by the Transnet National Ports Authority following a request for a medical sea rescue extrication from MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) who, following monitoring of the patients condition by the Government Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) duty doctor, activated the casualty extrication operation for the officer to be removed from the ship and transported to the nearest appropriate hospital as soon as possible.Sea conditions were calm with no wind.At 14h50 our NSRI Port Elizabeth volunteer sea rescue duty crew launched Spirit of Toft and responded to rendezvous with the ship 8 nautical miles off-shore of Cape Recife.On arrival on-scene NSRI medics were put aboard the ship and the patient was transferred onto our sea rescue boat before being brought to the sea rescue base. He was then transferred into a Guardmed private ambulance services ambulance and taken to hospital in a stable condition for further treatment.The operation was completed by 16h00.PICTURES, FOR MEDIA USE, CAN BE FOUND ON THE SEA RESCUE FLICKR PAGE.