A Coast Guard helicopter airlifted a seriously ill fisherman from a Spanish hospital ship off the west coast in the early hours yesterday morning after the man had been taken from a fishing trawler on Friday.
The 61-year-old crewman of the British-owned fishing vessel the ‘Ben Loyal’ had fallen ill at around midday on Friday when the trawler was about 400km south west Valentia, Co Kerry. The man is understood to have complained of chest pains and amid concerns for his wellbeing, the captain of the trawler radioed for assistance.
While the vessel was outside the range of the nearest Coast Guard helicopter, a Spanish owned hospital ship was only a short distance away and picked up the distress call.
The ‘Juan de la Cosa’, which accompanies the various fleets of Spanish fishing
trawlers in the North Atlantic, was about 15 kilometres away and was able to divert and meet with the trawler.
The casualty was transferred to the floating hospital in a delicate and risky operation where the man was taken into care by medics. While the patient was treated for his condition, the Juan de la Cosa began heading north towards the Irish coast when
it was decided that the patient should be airlifted to hospital.
In an operation coordinated by staff at the Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Coordination Centre at Valentia Island, the Shannon based rescue helicopter was scrambled to intercept the hospital ship. When assistance was sought from the chopper crew, the Juan de la Cosa was still outside the limit of the helicopter’s operational capability but was getting closer all the time.