Medevac 385 km south of Gran Canaria
The Spanish Ministry of Defence has reported on a mission to airlift a Russian sailor from a hospital ship 385 km (240 miles) south of Gran Canaria,
The Spanish Ministry of Defence has reported on a mission to airlift a Russian sailor from a hospital ship 385 km (240 miles) south of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. The 25-year-old Russian sailor, originally from the ship Aleksandr Kosarev, had been diagnosed with possible acute appendicitis by staff treating him onboard the Esperanza del Mar, a purpose-built hospital ship operated by Spain’s Instituto Social de la Marina that caters to the fishing fleet off west Africa.
The ship raised the alarm and headed towards the Canary Islands in order get within range of search and rescue aircraft. The following day at around 10:30 hrs, a Spanish Air Force 802 Squadron helicopter took off from Gando Air Base, Gran Canaria, accompanied by a fixed-wing aircraft from the same squadron that relayed weather information and supported communications. The helicopter landed on the ship’s helipad at around 13:10 hrs to load the patient. He was then flown back to Gando, where he was handed over to Canary Island Emergency Service ground ambulance personnel for an urgent transfer to a hospital in the island’s capital.