Late on Saturday afternoon, an HH139B, which had taken off from the 82nd Search and Rescue Centre in Trapani, was deployed to rescue an injured person aboard a vessel off the Sicilian coast. 

Around 18:10 on Saturday 18 May, an HH139B helicopter from the 82nd SAR Centre of the 15th Wing took off from Trapani military airport for a mission to recover a man taken ill on board an Italian fishing boat travelling between the Tunisian and Trapani coasts.

Medical staff boarded at the S. Antonio Abate Hospital in Trapani, and the helicopter then proceeded towards the fishing boat where the air rescue rescuer, shortly after 7 p.m., recovered the injured person using a rescue triangle and winch. At around 8 p.m., the helicopter landed at the Sant'Antonio Abate hospital, where the injured person was handed over to the care of the hospital staff in Trapani.

The helicopter then returned to the Trapani base where it resumed operational readiness service.

The mission, which lasted around an hour and a half of flight, was coordinated by the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico at the request of the Coastguard – 12th MRSC of Palermo (Maritime Rescue Sub Centre).

The 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force guarantees, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without interruption, the search and rescue of aircrews in distress. It also contributes to public utility activities such as searching 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. Since its establishment to date, the 15th Wing's crews have saved approximately 7800 people in danger of losing their lives. Since 2018, the Unit has acquired the AIB (Wildfire Fighting) capability, contributing to the prevention and fighting of fires throughout the national territory as part of the joint forces network deployed by the Defence.