On Sunday afternoon, the tower on Ekofisk 2/4 H received a “mayday” signal from a fishing boat where one of the crew members had fallen into the sea. They managed to get him back on board, but he required rapid medical assistance. The boat was located 70 nautical miles northeast of Ekofisk.
After notifying available rescue resources to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Southern Norway (CHRS), it became clear that the SAR crews from Ekofisk would be able to offer the quickest assistance.
“We had a SAR helicopter available and within ten minutes it was in the air,” says head nurse Ronny Helland on Ekofisk. The helicopter with the SAR crew on board reached the injured seaman after a 30-minute flight.
It was a relatively small fishing boat with limited space to lower the rescuer and SAR nurse in waves about three meters high. When they were on board, it was determined that the patient’s condition was critical and required fast transportation to land. The patient was then hoisted on to the helicopter for further transport. He received active treatment in the helicopter during the entire transport to Stavanger University Hospital (SUS). From when the boat started transmitting the emergency signals until the helicopter with the SAR crew landed at SUS, one hour and 47 minutes had passed.