The Bundaberg-based LifeFlight aeromedical crew today winched a man from a bulk carrier after a medical incident.
The LifeFlight helicopter was tasked at 4:30pm by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), supported by Retrieval Services Queensland, to attend a medical emergency on a bulk carrier 100 nautical miles northeast of Bundaberg.
The bulk carrier’s crew contacted AMSA for medical assistance and AMSA then put the ship’s crew in contact with LifeFlight’s Duty Medical Coordinator to evaluate the situation, confirming the patient required immediate evacuation.
The LifeFlight rescue crew officer, and a critical care Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) flight paramedic were winched down to the deck of the ship.
Following an on-board medical assessment, the patient, paramedic, and rescue crew officer were all safely winched back into the aircraft.
The helicopter airlifted the patient to the LifeFlight Bundaberg base.
The patient, aged in his 30s, was road transported by QAS paramedics to Bundaberg Hospital for further treatment.
The Bundaberg-based LifeFlight helicopter and crew service the Wide Bay-Burnett region and beyond.