French forces medevac injured from Yemen
On the night of 21 to 22 May, the French Forces stationed in Djibouti (FFDj) evacuated victims wounded in an attack that left nearly 100 dead and many injured in Sana’a, Yemen. The mission saw the Forces make a return flight from Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, across the Red Sea to Yemen on the Middle East Peninsula.
On the night of 21 to 22 May, the French Forces stationed in Djibouti (FFDj) evacuated victims wounded in an attack that left nearly 100 dead and many injured in Sana’a, Yemen. The mission saw the Forces make a return flight from Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, across the Red Sea to Yemen on the Middle East Peninsula.
The alert was received by FFDj medical command and the Overseas Transport Squadron (ETOM) on the evening of 21 May, and a C-160 Transall plane was configured for medical evacuation. At 02:30 hrs, the Transall lifted off with an FFDj medical team onboard, consisting of two emergency physicians and five nurses.
After an hour and a half in the air, the aircraft landed at Sana’a Airport, where a physician from the French embassy and Yemeni military doctors waited with the wounded. A swift medical handover was conducted and the victims were packaged for flight.
At 06:00 hrs, the Transall left Sana'a with five seriously injured patients onboard, all of whom were in a critical condition and required specialised care that could be administered at the French hospital in Djibouti. The plane landed in Djibouti at 07:30 hrs, and the injured were transported to Bouffard hospital onboard FFDj ground ambulances. Two patients were taken for surgery upon arrival; the remaining three victims were taken to the intensive care unit.
Images from top, courtesy EMA / French Army: The FFDj receive the injured at Sana’a Airport The injured onboard the C-160 aircraft The patients arrive at Sana’a Airport on ground ambulances Transfer of the injured to ground ambulances at Djibouti A patient is transferred to ground ambulance at Djibouti