Comox crews carry out three cruise ship medical evacuations
Search and rescue teams responded to three vessels off northern Vancouver Island in less than a week.
Search and rescue crews from 19 Wing Comox completed three medical evacuations from cruise ships off northern Vancouver Island over a period of less than one week.
The latest operation occurred Monday after a passenger experienced medical distress aboard a ship about 450 kilometres northwest of Port Hardy. Two search and rescue technicians descended from a hovering CH-149 Cormorant helicopter to prepare the passenger for evacuation. The patient was then flown to Port Hardy and transferred to paramedics.
During an earlier mission, crews evacuated another cruise passenger from a vessel roughly 200 kilometres northwest of Port Hardy and transported the patient to Comox for medical care. A separate call involved a crew member who was reported to be in critical condition. That patient was also flown to Comox, where B.C. Emergency Health Services arranged immediate transportation to a hospital.
For each operation, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria dispatched a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft. Officials have not provided further information about any of the patients’ medical conditions.