Again, Portugal’s airborne emergency services have been tested and found to be excellent as the life of a man on a merchant ship has been saved by the expert abilities of a Portuguese navy helicopter crew.
The 46-year-old Russian man with "uncontrolled bleeding, pain and very low blood pressure" was whisked from the merchant vessel Esprit and flown to Faro airport.
The Portuguese Navy coordinated the operation from its Search and Rescue Center in Lisbon after the distress message was picked up, saying the Esprit was 31 miles south of Albufeira and the man was in serious danger.
The first course of action is for the Emergency Patients Guidance Centre at Sea to assess the situation. In this case it was agreed that the patient was to be airlifted by helicopter to Faro airport and then by ambulance to the local hospital.
The Air Force’s EH-101 helicopter arrived at Faro airport at 11:20 this morning to be met by an INEM ambulance which transported the patient to Faro Hospital where the Russian is reported to be in a stable condition.
