A 76-year-old Japanese woman, who fell ill and required urgent medical treatment, was rescued by an Italian Air Force HH-139B helicopter on board the ship Pacific World
The operation by a helicopter concluded on the evening of 17 May, at around 19:00 HH-139B of the’Italian Air Force who rescued a 76-year-old Japanese woman who had fallen seriously ill while on board the cruise ship Pacific World, off the coast of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily.
The request for intervention has been authorised by Rescue Coordination Centre del Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (FE), the Italian Air Force command and control centre from which all operational activities of this kind are managed.
The helicopter, one of the assets of the Armed Forces always ready for takeoff on national territory also for this type of operation, it immediately took off from the military airport of Birgi - Trapani, home of the’82° SAR Centre (Search and Rescue – Search and Rescue) of the 15th Wing, after embarking a medical team.
Having reached the vessel, an Air Force rescue specialist recovered the woman by lowering himself with the rescue winch, an essential tool in situations where, as in this case, landing is not possible. Once the hoisting was safely completed, the helicopter headed for the Sant'Antonio Abate Hospital in Trapani, where the patient was handed over to the care of the medical staff.
Having completed the rescue, the military crew returned to the Trapani military base, where they resumed search and rescue readiness duties.
The 82nd SAR Centre is one of the units of the 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force which guarantees, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without interruption, the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty, whilst also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, emergency medical transport of patients in imminent danger of life and the rescue of severely traumatised individuals, operating even in severe weather conditions. Since its establishment to date, the crews of the 15th Wing have saved more than 7,500 lives in danger. Since 2018, the Unit has acquired the AIB (Forest Firefighting) capability, contributing to fire prevention and fighting.
