Royal Navy and RAF Search and Rescue crews have had a busy start to 2010 with their Sea King helicopter crews responding to various call-outs due to the severe weather conditions across the country.
Civilian and military Search and Rescue Sea King helicopters have been called out 85 times so far this year, a substantial increase from the same period last year when there were 50 call-outs.
The recent winter weather has seen an increase in the number of medical transfers carried out by Search and Rescue helicopters as ambulances struggle to reach casualties through the snow and ice affecting roads.
The duty crew of HMS Gannet, the Royal Navy’s helicopter search and rescue unit, based in south east Scotland, have responded to a number of incidents involving sledging accidents this week.
One involved an 18-year-old sledger at Chatelherault Country Park, near Hamilton.
The crew was tasked at 1530hrs and 25 minutes later picked up the casualty, a paramedic who was already on the scene and a carer, transferring the injured man to Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the country, the RAF Search and Rescue team based at Royal Marines Base Chivenor, in Devon, have also been out and about.
The evacuation was a precaution only, but the crew, with Flight Lieutenant Steve Whalley at the controls and co-pilot Flight Lieutenant Dom Sanderson navigating, then received an emergency call to attend to a girl with head and spinal injuries fading in and out of consciousness.
The 15-year-old casualty had crashed her toboggan and, on landing, the RAF crew strapped her into a stretcher and then flew her also to North Devon District Hospital.
Article and picture: MOD UK
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