A sailor was airlifted to Plymouth last night after becoming unwell on board a cargo ship.
HM Coastguard conducted the medivac after a mayday call was made by the vessel RDJ Waalstroom.
The Antigua and Barbuda flagged general cargo ship was off the coast of Plymouth in the English Channel when the distress call was made.
At the time of the incident, the vessel was en route to Bilbao in Spain. The mayday call was made following a fire in the vessel’s engine room.
The fire was contained by a fire extinguisher system, and all six people on board were accounted for.
Newquay based R924 search and rescue helicopter winched one casualty from the vessel, before transferring them to land.
The helicopter then landed at RM Bickleigh, a Royal Marines barracks on the outskirts of Plymouth.
Paramedics from the South Western Ambulance Service then took over care of the casualty and conveyed them on blue lights to Derriford Hospital.
Since 2022, larger coastguard helicopters have been banned from landing at Derriford Hospital after a woman was fatally injured by rotor downdraft.
Now, patients face the final part of their journey to Devon and Cornwall’s major trauma centre by land ambulance.
Delays for land ambulances after helicopter landings can be significant. Previously, a critically unwell sailor waited close to two hours for transfer to hospital.
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