SCDF rescues crew member from anchored ship after suspected stroke incident

SCDF rescues crew member from anchored ship after suspected stroke incident
Isabelle Liew Sep 13, 2021, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/scdf-rescues-crew-membe...

SINGAPORE - A crew member aboard a vessel was rescued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Monday morning (Sept 13) after a suspected stroke.

SCDF deployed two marine vessels after receiving a call for medical assistance at about 1.30am. They arrived alongside the ship, which was anchored in eastern Singapore.

Seven SCDF marine specialists, of whom two are also trained as emergency medical technicians, boarded the anchored vessel with their rescue and medical equipment.

They found the crew member, who was conscious, on the ship's main deck.

"He was suspected to have a stroke, with numbness and a loss of sensation on the right side of his body," said SCDF in a Facebook post.

It added that SCDF marine specialists carefully secured him onto a stretcher, which was then lowered to a marine rescue vessel.

A crew of marine specialists had simultaneously set up a height-lowering system to a crane on the anchored vessel, in order to lower the crew member to the rescue vessel.

"The rescue and evacuation operation had to be coordinated carefully in view of the strong winds and sea current. The marine specialists also had to constantly communicate and coordinate with the crane operator as the casualty was being lowered," said SCDF.

The crew member was taken to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal where he was medically assessed by an ambulance crew, and then taken to Changi General Hospital.