Chilean navy helos pick 24 victims off beached ship
The Chilean Navy has successfully evacuated 24 crew members from a ship beached off Llolleo. In a co-ordinated action by the Maritime Authority of San Antonio, the crew of the merchant vessel Ocean Breeze, which lost its anchor and was washed onshore at 07:30 on 16 August, were rescued in an operation conducted by a team of rescue swimmers from two naval helicopters.
The Chilean Navy has successfully evacuated 24 crew members from a ship beached off Llolleo. In a co-ordinated action by the Maritime Authority of San Antonio, the crew of the merchant vessel Ocean Breeze, which lost its anchor and was washed onshore at 07:30 on 16 August, were rescued in an operation conducted by a team of rescue swimmers from two naval helicopters.
Staff from the Port Authority of San Antonio were mobilised to the scene, while the Maritime Authority co-ordinated efforts to tow the ship towards the open sea. However, due to strong waves, the vessel was declared to be firmly grounded on a sandbank at 09:09 hrs.
The large, breaking waves prevented evacuation of the crew by sea; in anticipation of this scenario, naval helicopters from ViƱa del Mar had already been requested, the first of which performed the first rescue, using a basket, at 09:54 hrs. Three helicopters were deployed in total: a Dauphin and a Cougar to carry out the evacuations, with a Bolkow in support. The first two crew members were plucked from the ship at 10:19 hrs and taken to a local hospital suffering from hypothermia. Flat ground along the shore and opposite the wreck facilitated the rescue, and by 11:00 hrs all crew members had been brought to safety uninjured.
Images: (top) A Chilean Navy helicopter hovers above the ship; (above) the rescue was effected by rescue swimmers onboard two helicopters.