Rescue teams evacuated a sick crewmember from a freighter about 250 km west of Tofino on Aug. 8.
When the freighter requested the evacuation, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria dispatched the 442 Squadron Buffalo and Cormorant crews.
A CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and CC-115 Buffalo airplane were launched and two Search and Rescue Technicians were lowered 80 feet to the deck of the ship in order to prepare the patient for evacuation, according to a recent media release.
Captain Dennis Power, 19 Wing Public Affairs Officer, told the Westerly News the rescue crews arrived on scene around 6 p.m. and had the sick crewmember on his way to medical attention in short order.
“The whole time from arriving on scene to having him in the helicopter was probably about 25 minutes and then they flew him directly into the Canadian Forces base in Comox,” Power said.
He said the patient was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital in stable condition.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca