KOLKATA: Indian Coast Guard on Monday airlifted an injured crew member of a chemical tanker vessel from Singapore that was anchored at the Bay of Bengal and got him admitted to a private hospital in Bhubaneshwar where his condition was stated to be stable by the end of the day.
Around 6.30am, ICG officials at Haldia were alerted about the medical emergency onboard MT GB Venture (Flag – Singapore), which was anchored in position 40.5 Nm South of Sagar, due to machinery breakdown. One crew Than Htike Lwin (Myanmar national) had sustained blunt trauma abdomen during maintenance on hydraulic pipeline onboard and complained of severe pain in abdomen and difficulty in breathing.
Subsequently, the coast guard medical officer at Haldia communicated with the master of the vessel and advised first aid, to stabilize the patient’s condition as a Coast Guard Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) was launched from Coast Guard Air Enclave Bhubaneshwar, for evacuation of the patient. Meanwhile two Coast Guard ships operating at sea were also diverted towards the Motor Tanker, for rendering assistance.
The helicopter reached the tanker at about 10.10am and after taking the prevailing sea and weather conditions into consideration, the patient was evacuated from the vessel at about 10.30am and disembarked at the nearest port in Bhubaneshwar around 11.40 am. The injured crew was thereafter admitted at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, for further medical management. The condition of the patient was reported stable, an ICG press statement said.
