On Friday morning Netcare 911 paramedics flew on board the Port-Net Helicopter to hoist a seriously ill seaman from a ship eight miles off the Richards Bay shore. Reports indicate that the ship was on their way to Durban when a seaman became seriously injured and had to be hospitalised.
The Manager and advanced life support paramedic of the Netcare 911 base in Richards Bay was lowered down on a hoist to treat the seaman on the ship. Once he managed to stabilise the patient, he placed him into a special harness. Helicopter then came in and with great skill the pilot hovered over the ship while the engineer skilfully hoisted the patient and paramedic back into the helicopter.
The patient was then flown to the airport in Richards Bay under the constant care of the advanced life support paramedic. Once they landed the patient was loaded into an ambulance and then transported to a hospital for the care that he required.