A sailor on board a Singapore-flagged oil tanker who suffered an abdominal injury while carrying out maintenance duties on the ship was rescued by an Indian Coast Guard helicopter on Monday.
The captain of the vessel had radioed for an emergency medical evacuation, a senior coast guard officer said.
The oil tanker, MV GB Venture, was anchored around 70km from Sagar Island and 140km from Paradip Island after it suffered a machinery breakdown, the officer added.
Sailor Than Htike Lwin, from Myanmar, was carrying out repairs on an hydraulic line of the ship when he suffered an abdominal injury, the officer said.
“Lwin complained of very bad abdominal pain and breathlessness. His crew members alerted the captain. He then sent a distress message to our station at Haldia seeking assistance around 6.30am today,” the officer said.
After receiving the distress message, officers from the Indian Coast Guard contacted the local agent of the ship seeking a status report on the injured crew member.
The agent informed the officers that Lwin needed to be rescued immediately and hospitalised as the pain was increasing in intensity.
“The Indian Coast Guard medical officer at Haldia communicated with the captain of the vessel and advised first aid to stabilise the patient’s condition,” the officer said.
An Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) from the Indian Coast Guard Air Enclave in Bhubaneswar was sent to rescue Lwin.
The helicopter reached the ship at 10.10am and picked up Lwin. He was flown to the Bhubaneswar air enclave, the officer said.
Lwin was admitted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.