At 8:15am today, Stornoway Coastguard received a call from the Irish registered fishing vessel Niamh Edghan, 20 miles West of South Uist, who had a 45 year old crewman on board who had sustained a serious head injury.
The man had apparently fallen while working on deck and was unconscious and bleeding. The crew of `Niamh Edghan immediately put him in the recovery position while the Coastguard connected the vessel to a doctor at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary who gave the crew medical advice about how to care for the man until the Coastguard Rescue helicopter could arrive.
Coastguard Rescue 100 was scrambled from Stornoway for the 85 mile flight to the vessel. The weather in the Atlantic was Southwest force 6 to 7, gusting gale force 8 which made the winching operation extremely difficult in the rough sea conditions.
The Paramedic from the helicopter, with help from the crew of the `Niamh Edghan, placed the man in a stretcher and he was then winched into the helicopter and flown to the Accident & Emergency unit at the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.
Stornoway Coastguard Watch Manager Martin Collins said:
Doctors at the Western Isles Hospital have reported that the crewman is in a stable condition but they are still assessing the full extent of his injuries.
The crew of the Niamh Edghan did an excellent job in caring for their crewman before the rescue helicopter arrived and worked hard to make the airlift as fast and as safe as possible.
