Airborne Service Helicopter Offer Emergency Medical Evacuation - Rescue Goes Beyond Nationalities
On May 25, 2015, a sailor from Chinese Mainland felt acute ache in his stomach on the ‘Ocean Goddess’, a foreign cruise ship (the Republic of Sierra Leone) at the mouth of Tatu river, Taichung. It is suspected that the ache was caused renal calculus. The condition was critical. Due to the poor maritime circumstance around the site, Coast Guard naval vessels could not get close to the ship. Thus, they urgently applied for helicopters to execute airborne hanging rescue. After receiving the task inform, the Airborne Service Corp immediately carried out a risk assessment and confirmed the basic data and coordinate position of the cruise ship. After that, the Corp instantly dispatched equipped crews of Type AS-365 (No. NA-110) task plane from Group 1 (stationed at the Taichung Ching Chuang Kang Airport) of the 2nd Service Battalion to go for rescue. The task plane arrived at the target area at about 15:10. Out of strong wave, the helicopter must carefully avoid the cables and masts of the ship and slowly put down the nacelle to the ship while holding itself in the air. The rescue process fulled of risks and dangers. After several times of descent, the helicopter successfully carrying the patient up at about 15:50. The plane immediately went on the return voyage and landed at the stadium on the north of Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital. The ambulance personnel took over the patient to do further rescue. The Airborne Service Corp successfully fulfilled the mission.