Indian Coast Guard evacuated a Phillinpine crew member from a merchant vessel Evelyn Maersk. Indian Coast Guard station at Vizhinjam received call from the merchant vessel Evelyn Maersk’s master that one of his crew fell unconscious and pulse rate is very low.
The vessel sailed from Colombo and was scheduled to enter Suez Canal but the medical emergency occurred during the passage. Indian coast guard instructed the merchant vessel to divert and come closer to Vizhinjam. Advance Light Helicopter was launched from Kochi but due to various constraints onboard ship could not recover the patient. However, ICGS 427 was standby to recover and on taking permission from station commander recovered the patient and brought safely to Vizhinjam harbour. Further primary medical inspection was carried by station medical officer and the patient was handed over to the company agent for further medical treatment at NIMS hospital.