Cape Town - An 80-year-old woman had to be evacuated from a cruise ship near Green Point after suffering a fall and sustaining serious injuries.
NSRI Table Bay duty coxswain Marc de Vos said that on Tuesday at about 4am, duty crew and a WC Government Health EMS rescue squad were activated to prepare to launch to evacuate a patient injured on board a cruise ship.
“The cruise vessel had departed from the Port of Table Bay earlier. An 80-year-old Cape Town female passenger reportedly suffered a fall while on board, sustaining serious injuries while offshore north of Saldanha Bay.
“She was attended to and stabilised by the ship’s medical team,” Vos said, adding that the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was alerted to the incident by the cruise liner.
“A WC Government Health EMS duty doctor evaluated the patient’s condition in co-operation with the ship’s doctor and it was decided that immediate evacuation to hospital was necessary,” Vos said.
Just after midnight, MRCC requested the NSR Emergency Operations Centre to put the NSRI Table Bay and NSRI Mykonos duty crews on alert while Metro EMS Control placed EMS rescue paramedics on alert.
In correspondence with the ship’s agent it was decided for the vessel to return to Table Bay.
“NSRI Table Bay duty crew, aboard the NSRI rescue craft Rescue 3, accompanied by two EMS rescue paramedics, rendezvoused with the vessel at anchorage offshore of Green Point.
“The patient was secured into a Stokes basket stretcher and transferred onto the NSRI rescue craft and in the care of the EMS rescue paramedics she was brought to our NSRI Table Bay rescue station and transported to a hospital in a serious but stable condition by EMS ambulance, accompanied by a family member.”
NSRI commended the co-operation and care of all involved in the maritime medical emergency.
Cape Times