NSRI – Gqeberha – Urgent medical evacuation off a ship

Correction: The patient is age 32 and he is from Myanmar. Update: The patient is reportedly recovering well in the care of doctors and nurses, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

CRAIG LAMBINON
NSRI COMMS
+27 823803800 (24 hrs)

See original media statement below (corrected) ...

The ship's Captain informed NSRI that he had requested urgent medical assistance just after midday. The ships medical crew were fighting to save the life of their fellow crewman who had sustained injuries in a fall onboard the ship, suffering critical life threatening injuries, and who was not breathing.

Ian Gray, NSRI Gqeberha coxswain, said:

On Wednesday, 19 March, NSRI Gqeberha duty crew were activated by NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) following reports from MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre), at around 15h23, of an urgent medical evacuation operation from a motor vessel bulk carrier heading towards Gqeberha.

It appears that in marine VHF radio communications, intercepted by Telkom Maritime Radio Services, reportedly just after midday, the ship's Captain, of the 300 meter motor vessel bulk carrier, had requested urgent medical assistance.
 
The motor vessel, restricted to a speed of 7 knots, had reportedly been able to increase speed to 10 knots - heading towards Gqeberha ... at best speed.

On being activated at 15h23, and quickly realising the gravity and the urgency of the situation, NSRI Gqeberha duty controllers requested our volunteer NSRI duty crew, our volunteer NSRI Gqeberha MEX (Maritime Extrication) crew and EC Government Health EMS ALS (Advanced Life Support) rescue paramedics, to respond priority one - expeditiously - to our NSRI Gqeberha station 6 rescue base to prepare to launch our rescue craft Rescue 6 to respond to this urgent medical evacuation operation.

Racing against time - as much information about the patients' medical condition and the size and structural configuration of the ship was collected by our NSRI Gqeberha duty controllers in order for there to be no further delays to deliver urgent advanced life support medical intervention, by NSRI and EMS, to the critically injured man.

By that stage NSRI were made aware that ship's Captain had reported that his ships medical crew had managed to restore spontaneous breathing to the patient, a 32 year old seaman from Myanmar, but confirming that the patient remained in a critical condition, with the ships medical crew fighting to save his life.

At that stage they were 46 nautical miles South South West (SSW) of Cape Recife.

It quickly became obvious that this would be a challenging emergency operation based on the size of the motor vessel and the critical nature of the injuries sustained to the casualty.

At 16h16 the NSRI rescue craft Rescue 6 was launched, accompanied by 2 EMS ALS (Advanced Life Support) rescue paramedics and 2 NSRI MEX (Maritime Extrication) technicians.

(Our NSRI Gqeberha volunteers and the EMS ALS rescue paramedics are commended for reaching our rescue base as quickly as they did, against heavy motor traffic, and preparing and launching the NSRI rescue craft, Rescue 6, in record time.)

While responding towards the casualty ship, and now in direct communications with the ship, NSRI learned that the patient had fallen 6 meters down a flight of stairs, at 11h30, landing on a hard surface, sustaining multiple life threatening injuries, and while he had initially stopped breathing the ships medical crew had restored spontaneous breathing to the patient in resuscitation efforts.
The ship's Captain had immediately raised the alarm.
The ships medical crew were fighting to save his life, and they had not moved him, treating him where he had landed, despite challenging confined spaces.

We rendezvoused with the vessel at 17h45, 35 nautical miles offshore, in Algoa Bay, in 2.5 meter sea swells, where the 2 EMS ALS rescue paramedics and the 2 NSRI MEX technicians were transferred onto the ship.

The rescue crew navigated through narrow passage ways, slippery and steep stairs, reaching the steering bulk head where the patient was found lying in a confined space in a critical condition in the care of the ships medical crew who showed obvious signs of relief that help had finally arrived.

The 2 EMS rescue paramedics commenced Advanced Life Support medical treatment while our NSRI MEX technicians investigated the best and safest options to extricate the injured man from the confined spaces.

Our MEX technicians, assisted by the ship's crew, located a hatch with a derrick above the hatch and a straight line passage to the bulkhead.

High angle technical rope extrication was established by our NSRI MEX crew who have commended the ship's crew for their assistance and willingness in helping to quickly and safely established a best pathway to get the patient off the ship and who helped with the configuration of the technical rope work.

The patient was secured onto a spinal trauma board and into a Stokes basket stretcher, while intense and extensive medical treatment continued.

Despite the confined space, and after the 2 paramedics and the ship's crew were briefed
by our NSRI MEX crew on the plan to extricate the severely injured man, in a challenging high angle technical configured rope extrication method, the patient was quickly but gently extricated from the confined space, hauling him almost three stories vertically to the (above) decks.

A language barrier with the ship's crew proved challenging but they are commended for their excellent assistance in the urgent (but safe) extrication of their critically injured fellow crewman.

Once the patient was safely on deck our NSRI MEX crew disassembled the technical high angle rope configuration and then reassembled a high angle technical rope system where a high point was established, and the patient, in the care of one of the rescue paramedics, was transferred (gently) lowered down onto our NSRI rescue craft.

Once safely onboard the NSRI rescue craft the 2 NSRI MEX crew and the remaining paramedic were transferred onto our rescue craft with all of the medical equipment and all of the high angle extrication equipment recovered onto our rescue craft.

From the time of launching our NSRI rescue craft to getting the patient stabilised and transferred onto our NSRI rescue craft the operation had taken just under 2 hours.

Extensive medical treatment was then continued on our NSRI rescue craft to further stabilise the patient.

The paramedics requested that we delay at sea stabilising the rescue craft as best as possible in the heavy sea swells while the 2 EMS rescue paramedics worked tirelessly and for quite some time before they were satisfied that we could commence on the trip back to our rescue base.

With all care to the patients wellbeing applied, and still in a critical but now more stable condition, with efforts to prevent any further discomfort to the patient in the bumpy ride through the fair seas but with 2.5 meter sea swells, and with extensive medical treatment continuing to be provided to the patient by the 2 EMS rescue paramedics, the patient was brought safely to our NSRI rescue base - arriving at the NSRI rescue base at 21h12.

The patient was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance, in a serious but stable condition, where he remains in the care of doctors and nurses in ICU.

The efforts of our NSRI crew, the EMS rescue paramedics and the ship's crew, in challenging conditions, to save the life of the casualty, are commended.