In the night, a helicopter HH-139B of the’80° SAR Centre (Search and Rescue – Ricerca e Soccorso) of the’Italian Air Force, based at the military airport Decimomannu (CA), intervened to recover a 29-year-old injured man from the cargo ship “MERNA1”, six miles off the port of Arbatax.
Upon the request of the 13th MRSC (Maritime Rescue Sub Centre) in Cagliari, the Rescue Coordination Centre from the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (FE) has ordered the take-off of the helicopter from the 80th SAR Centre, one of the rotary-wing assets of the 15th Wing on standby for activities Search and Rescue national and appropriate to the type of emergency.
The crew – a specialised team consisting of pilots, a winch operator and a mountain rescuer – took off from the military base in Decimomannu and reached the cargo ship. After the mountain rescuer and a stretcher were lowered onto the deck, the injured person was recovered by the winch operator inside the helicopter, to then be transferred as quickly as possible to the Brotzu hospital in Cagliari for necessary treatment.
It 15th Wing of the Air Force guarantees, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, seamlessly, the search and rescue of airborne crews in distress, also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for people missing at sea or in mountains, emergency medical transport for patients in imminent danger to life, 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 lives in peril. Since 2018, the Department has acquired AIB (Wildfire Fighting) capability, contributing to the prevention and fighting of fires throughout the national territory within the framework of the joint task force deployed by the Defence.
