Medical emergency on Koningsdam

[VMax1700]

Capt Darin has just announced that a female passenger is in need of urgent medical attention and is going to be helicoptered from the upper decks.

Crew is clearing decks and rear pool to allow for the medical crew to arrive.

We currently have a wind of 35 knots!

French coastguard is sending the chopper and it is due to arrive in 25 minutes.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am so sorry to hear this.

 

We have had people helicoptered from various ships.  Rough when the winds are up.

 

Hope she will be okay.

[doone]

Oh I hate when that happens, hoping patient will be ok, sending prayers to all.....

[ger_77]

Sending good vibes for a positive outcome for the passenger and safety for all involved!

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂 🙂🙂

[beaming90]

Praying for passenger, how awful!  And for the rescue people.

[VMax1700]

Heli has arrived and dropped two medical personnel on to sun deck. Heli is now hovering off port side while French medical personnel made the patientvsecure for the lift.

Amazing flying from French coastgaurd pilot.

[doone]

God Bless them all

[Caribbean Chris]

Oh dear, I hope she is all right and that the maneuver can be performed safely. 

 

On our cruise up the US coast last spring when the Veendam was repositioning  from Florida up to Montreal, the captain diverted off course to get close enough to Charleston so a Coast Guard helicopter could airlift a passenger to a hospital. We lost a scheduled port day in Boston  (the Captain did pull in long enough at night to take on passengers who were boarding there) but I never heard anyone grumble.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Caribbean Chris

[VMax1700]

Heli has arrived and dropped two medical personnel on to sun deck. Heli is now hovering off port side while French medical personnel made the patientvsecure for the lift.

Amazing flying from French coastgaurd pilot.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We had an evacuation on K'dam last year in the Caribbean. They never tell you how the patient did, so all you can do is hope and pray it turns out OK.

 

They used the aft-port corner of the ship. We were in the deck 7 aft-port corner and it was loud, even inside. They asked people at the aft and port side to stay off their balconies and we did, so I have only a few distant photos of the helicopter. 

[firecrewcapt]

My son flies the HH60 Pavehawk Helicopter for the Ca.Air Guard out of Moffitt Field from the SF Bay area and goes out to all sorts of ships to do Medi-Vacs all along the west coast. 

[DeeniEncinitas]

Hope and pray she will be fine. So sad for her and the family!

Thank you for the video too.

Denise😊

[puppycanducruise]

Best wishes for the passenger's recovery.

And a big thank you to the French Coast Guard.

[VMax1700]

Pax successfully lifted and by now should be in hospital in Corsica.

The heli pilot held the heli so still during the lift! Amazing flying.

Luckily the wind dropped somewhat and the seas were not as high as this morning.  

 

[Himself]

18 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Pax successfully lifted and by now should be in hospital in Corsica.

The heli pilot held the heli so still during the lift! Amazing flying.

Luckily the wind dropped somewhat and the seas were not as high as this morning.  

 

Sorry to learn of the illness of the passenger but thank you for the reports. Glad to here that the helicopter was able to safely transport the passenger to a medical facility.

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

Heli has arrived and dropped two medical personnel on to sun deck. Heli is now hovering off port side while French medical personnel made the patientvsecure for the lift.

Amazing flying from French coastgaurd pilot.

 

The French, like other nations' services, are really good at thi!, Experienced one similar off French Polynesia. All the best to the female passenger involved in your situation

 

 

[Copper10-8]

56 minutes ago, firecrewcapt said:

My son flies the HH60 Pavehawk Helicopter for the Ca.Air Guard out of Moffitt Field from the SF Bay area and goes out to all sorts of ships to do Medi-Vacs all along the west coast. 

 

Your son's unit was involved in a famous medevac of a Westerdam passenger some 300+ miles off San Diego in 2013 that required a mid-air refueling by one of their MC-130s. Only the USAF/Calif Air National Guard can provide such a feat (mid-air refueling of a helo to extend the range of such an operation in order to reach the patient) "In Pace et Bello, Noctem et Diem (In Peace & War, During Night & Day)" Please thank your son for his service!

[jhannah]

We witnessed a medical evacuation of a crew member from the Rotterdam by the Norwegian Coast Guard. It's quite a feat, and fascinating to watch.

[scubacruiserx2]

A couple of years ago a Swedish helicopter was practicing with our cruise ship

 

 

 

 

 

Several night later they removed 2 people from just in front of our cabin . It felt like a hurricane when the took off .

 

 

 

The helicopters that we used in our Fire department in Miami couldn't refuel at sea so they didn't have the range that the Coast Guard has in Miami .

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Here's the video of the 2013 Westerdam medevac in the Pacific, incl. the actual refueling of the Calif Air National Guard Pavehawk helo by the MC-130 of the same unit (starting at 0.56 sec). I don't have to tell you what would happen if the refueling hose/basket combo of the Herc would come in contact with the blades of the Pavehawk. In order to avoid that, the refueling boom of the helo can be extended but this type of operation still carries a good amount of risk. In this operation, after refueling the helo in flight, the MC-130 acted as on scene rescue coordinator once it and the Pavehawk came on station over the Westerdam. As a side note, the Pavehawk has a large number (840) painted in pink on its fuselage because it had been assisting in fighting wildfires in Calif. My hat's off to all these men and women of the rescue services all over the world. "That others may live"

 

 

Edited April 19, 2019 by Copper10-8

[DocJohnB]

52 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Here's the video of the 2013 Westerdam medevac in the Pacific

Copper,

 

Thanks for posting that incredible video.  The guys who fly these missions (CG, AF and some others) are not only incredibly brave, they are incredibly trained and talented.

 

[firecrewcapt]

As a side note, the Pavehawk has a large number (840) painted in pink on its fuselage because it had been assisting in fighting wildfires in Calif. My hat's off to all these men and women of the rescue services all over the world. "That others may live"

 

You're exactly right, the big pink or orange numbers are for wildfire missions, I retired from CDF before he could drop on me......LOL. He'll be at the annual joint training later this month with CDF/CalFire in preparing for this years fire season.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the videos.

We are so lucky these people are able to help.

[FredT]

Two year ago we had a medivac in the north sea on the Astoria (in 30' seas and 30 mph winds)  Here is the video of that.  (As they pan back along the ship you can see four idiots on the promenade deck.... I'm one) 

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TDfadat7hI

 

Interesting to say the least.  

[Copper10-8]

Here's another one, this time by the Danes (Flyvevabnet/Royal Danish Air Force  Eskadrille 722 - EH-101 Merlin helo) in the North Sea involving Celebrity Eclipse. The Danes must have a different policy because it is very rare to see the next of kin of the patient accompany him/her via a hoist lift into the helicopter. Another fine job by these lifesavers who make it seem routine