RCAF Airlifts Ill Cruise Passenger From Ship Off Port Hardy
The Kingfisher aircraft reached the ship first, keeping watch as two search-and-rescue technicians were lowered from a Cormorant helicopter to prepare the hoist.
An ill cruise passenger was airlifted to Comox before dawn Saturday after a medical emergency aboard a ship sailing about 200 kilometres northwest of Port Hardy, British Columbia. The Royal Canadian Air Force dispatched a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-295 Kingfisher search-and-rescue aircraft from 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron.
Technicians hoisted the patient from the deck
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria directed the mission, with the fixed-wing Kingfisher reaching the vessel first. Its crew coordinated the evacuation with the ship’s captain and maintained watch over the scene while the Cormorant approached.
After the helicopter arrived, two search-and-rescue technicians were lowered to the deck. They assumed care of the passenger and prepared the patient for the hoist. The technicians subsequently boarded the helicopter with the patient, a travelling companion and medical personnel.
The Cormorant flew the group to Comox. There, BC Emergency Health Services took responsibility for the patient.
JRCC Victoria covers 600 nautical miles offshore
Based at 19 Wing Comox, 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron flies missions directed by JRCC Victoria along Canada’s West Coast and in adjacent offshore waters. The coordination centre’s jurisdiction includes British Columbia, Yukon and approximately 687,000 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, extending about 600 nautical miles offshore.
The Department of National Defence did not disclose the nature of the passenger’s medical emergency or provide an update on the patient’s condition after the transfer in Comox.
