Polish Navy helicopter evacuates man from Baltic platform 100 km off Władysławowo
A Polish Navy W-3WARM search and rescue helicopter flew a night medical evacuation on Monday from the platform Petro Monitor, working some 100 km north of Władysławowo in strong wind and rain. By 23:35 the patient, a man, was in the care of the emergency medical team at Gdynia City Hospital (Szpital Miejski w Gdyni).
In brief
The crew of a W-3WARM rescue helicopter from the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia evacuated a sick man from the Petro Monitor platform on the Baltic at night, in strong wind and rain. The Petro Monitor platform was operating about 100 km north of Władysławowo. The crew's paramedic provided assistance, and at 23:35 the patient was handed over to the Emergency Medical Team of the Gdynia City Hospital. Senior Chief Warrant Officer Piotr Skalski of the Naval Aviation Brigade admitted that the night and the weather did not make the task easier.
Medevac far beyond the reach of shore-based teams
The call reached the duty crew of the 43rd Naval Aviation Base in Gdynia-Babie Doły late in the evening. The request was for the immediate medical evacuation of a man on board Petro Monitor, positioned about 100 km off the Polish coast, north of Władysławowo. At that distance, a helicopter is the fastest route from an offshore unit to a hospital.
The W-3WARM Anakonda is the maritime search and rescue variant of the PZL W-3 Sokół, configured for over-water flying by day and by night. Helicopters of the Polish Naval Aviation Brigade hold round-the-clock SAR readiness over the Polish part of the Baltic and are regularly tasked with medevac flights to ferries, merchant ships and units working offshore. For operators whose crews work far from port, that capability is a core part of the safety net at sea.
Wind, rain and a stretcher transfer on deck
Conditions over the platform made the task harder. The crew faced strong wind, rain and moderate cloud cover, all in darkness over open water, with none of the visual references that land provides.
- The night and the weather conditions on scene certainly did not make the task any easier - said Senior Chief Warrant Officer Piotr Skalski of the Polish Naval Aviation Brigade.
The helicopter's rescue paramedic treated the man on site. With the help of the platform's personnel, he was then carried on a stretcher to the helicopter and flown to Gdynia, where the hospital's emergency medical team took over at 23:35.
- Excellent training, a well-coordinated team and reliable equipment have proved once again that human life and safety always come first - Piotr Skalski added.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Kamil Kusier
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