Busy start to Easter for Culdrose SAR
The Search and Rescue Squadron from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose has seen a busy start to the Easter break. 771 Naval Air Squadron have been called out on four jobs already and with good weather still forecast for the remainder of the holiday period, the team fully expects to be busy for the next two weeks.
Lieutenant Commander Andy Watts, who has just landed back at the base in Helston having taken three divers to Derriford hospital this afternoon said: “It all began with a call on Friday from HMS York for a crewman who had a suspected appendicitis. A fairly routine transfer was conducted and he was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital. On Sunday, the duty crew were called to a farm at Whitecross near Hayle where a rider had fallen off a horse at high speed and had a suspected pelvic injury. An ambulance with a paramedic was already on scene when the Culdrose helicopter, Rescue 193, arrived and landed in a nearby field. The casualty was then packaged in a stretcher, loaded into the aircraft along with the paramedic to maintain medical primary care during the short transit to Treliske and handed over to the waiting ambulance.”
“Finally on Tuesday the duty crew were conducting their regular daily training and had just arrived for some cliff winching at Lands End when Falmouth Coast Guard scrambled them to help three divers at Porthoustock Beach who had made a rapid ascent from 18 metres and had suspected bends. After refuelling at Culdrose, the helicopter landed at the beach, which had been cleared by the local Coast Guard team and the three divers were loaded into the aircraft. The Culdrose team conducted a speedy transit to the newly established Derriford hospital landing site and handed the divers over to an ambulance for them to undertake hypobaric chamber treatment.”
As always the crews and engineers of 771 Naval Air Squadron stand ready 24 hours a day to respond to each and every emergency, diligently. You can see them in action on Blue Peter at 17:45 on Thursday 12th April on the CBBC Channel and at 16:30 on Friday 13th April 2012 on BBC1. They are also giving talks to the general public at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth on Monday 9th April 2012.