The man was winched aboard the helicopter and then transported to the Sant'Antonio hospital in Trapani
This afternoon, an HH-139B helicopter of the 82nd SAR (Search and Rescue) Centre of the Italian Air Force, based at Trapani military airport, intervened to rescue and airlift a 24-year-old Greek seafarer in urgent need of hospital transfer from a Liberian-flagged oil tanker sailing about forty miles north of the Trapani coast.
At the request of the 12th MRSC (Maritime Rescue Sub Centre) in Palermo, the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (Ferrara) ordered the scramble of the helicopter from Trapani, one of the rotary-wing assets on standby for national Search and Rescue activities and appropriate for the type of emergency.
The crew – a specialised team made up of pilots, an onboard operator and an air rescuer – took off from the Sicilian military base and, after embarking a doctor at the Sant'Antonio Hospital in Trapani, reached the tanker vessel Samsara and, thanks to an air rescuer who was lowered by winch, recovered the young man before transferring him in the shortest possible time to the same city hospital for the necessary medical treatment.
The 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force guarantees, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without interruption, the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty, also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in mountains, emergency medical transport of patients in imminent danger of death, and the rescue of severely traumatised individuals, operating even in extreme weather conditions.
From its establishment to the present day, the crews of the 15th Wing have saved more than 7,500 people from life-threatening situations. Since 2018, the Unit has acquired Wildfire Fighting (AIB) capability, contributing to the prevention and combat of fires throughout the national territory as part of the joint interforce system deployed by the Defence.
