Patient lifted from 220m bulk carrier:

Shortly after midnight (Tuesday, 08th October) NSRI Hout Bay crew were tasked by the Transnet National Ports Authority to prepare to launch at approximately 04h30 to rendezvous with the 220 meter bulk carrier SUN ORCHID, sailing from Singapore to Brazil, reporting a 24 year old Filipino crewman onboard suspected to be suffering appendicitis.The WC Government Health EMS were also placed on alert.Earlier a WC Government Health EMS duty doctor had medically evaluated the patient by phone and deemed it necessary for the patient to be casualty evacuated to hospital as soon as possible. At that stage the vessel was deep-sea off Cape Agulhas and they were requested to head towards Cape Town, closer to shore, and NSRI Hout Bay were tasked to carry out the operation.At 04h50 we launched our sea rescue craft NADINE GORDIMER, accompanied by two WC Government Health EMS rescue paramedics, and rendezvoused with the ship off-shore of Slangkop Lighthouse, Kommetjie.The EMS rescue paramedics and an NSRI rescuer were transferred aboard and found the patient stable and satisfactory and he was loaded and secured into a crane basket and lowered onto our sea rescue craft.The patient was brought to our sea rescue base in Hout Bay and transported by a WC Government Health EMS ambulance to the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital for further evaluation and treatment.The rescue operation was completed at 08h30.Pictures for media use are on Sea Rescue's Flickr page.