A Royal Navy Helicopter Squadron, currently deployed in the Adriatic, has airlifted a critically ill passenger onboard a passing ferry to hospital.

The team from 700 Naval Air Squadron, normally based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Helston, are currently onboard RFA FORT GEORGE taking part in maritime security operations.

Lieutenant Commander Rick Boyes, the Senior Pilot on the Squadron explains how the duty crew and its Merlin helicopter were scrambled to assist a critically ill passenger aboard a passing ferry: "The incident started early in the morning of Monday when the ferry Riviera del Conero hailed FORT GEORGE requesting medical assistance for a passenger with severe breathing difficulties.

The ship's medical technician was taken across to the ferry by the ship's boat, and after administering treatment, assessed that the patient needed urgent hospitalisation.

The duty Merlin crew was assembled, briefed and flew out to the casualty. As soon as the patient was stabilised, the helicopter crew placed him in a stretcher, winched him into the aircraft from the top deck of the vessel and flew him to Split, Croatia.

Throughout the flight the Medical Technician and Aircrewman continued to provide medical assistance and administer oxygen.

The casualty was initially airlifted to the airport, however the ambulance that had been requested took time to arrive, and with the patient's condition deteriorating quickly, the air traffic controller directed the aircraft to the nearby hospital landing site and obtained the necessary clearances.

Five minutes later the aircraft touched down and the casualty was transferred to a waiting ambulance and driven to Split's modern Hospital. Without doubt, the swift response of the Ship's medical team, allied with the subsequent air move to the nearest hospital, dramatically increased the survival chances of the patient."

At the hospital, the patient underwent emergency surgery to repair a hole in his left lung (as diagnosed by Fort George's Medical Technician) and has started on the road to recovery.

Without the intervention of Fort Grange and 700 Naval Air Squadron, it is highly unlikely that the passenger would have survived the rest of the ferry journey to Ancona, Italy.

700 Squadron's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gavin Richardson, said: "All Fleet Air Arm aircrew are trained in, and practise, Search and Rescue techniques on a regular basis. This rescue was a classic example of the kind of humanitarian assistance and teamwork carried out on a daily basis by the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary around the world".

700 Squadron only recently returned from Counter Drug operations in the Caribbean where they were involved in two similar SAR operations.