Kochi | Indian Coast Guard personnel carried out a daring mission on Friday flying a total distance of around 900 km in extreme weather aboard a Dornier aircraft to airlift a critically ill man from a remote Lakshadweep island to Kochi for better medical care.
The 48-year-old was reported to be suffering from a brain stroke and was in an unconscious state at Government Hospital, Androth, an island in the archipelago.
The patient was shifted from Androth to Agatti (170 km) and then from Agatti to Kochi (450 Km).
One Coast Guard Dornier was on standby at the Coast Guard Air Enclave in Kochi with a medical team and necessary medical equipment. It took off at 7 am to pick up the patient from Androth.
The Coast Guard authorities at Kavaratti and Androth coordinated the safe evacuation of the patient amidst heavy rains. Subsequently, he was airlifted from Agatti to Kochi in the Coast Guard Dornier, a Defence release said.
"The Coast Guard Dornier transited a distance of approximately 900 km in extreme weather conditions and provided necessary medical support to the patient en route," it said.
The Dornier aircraft landed at 2.38 pm here, and the patient was shifted to Medical Trust Hospital, Kochi, for further treatment.
The successful and safe evacuation is an indicator of the professionalism and commitment of Indian Coast Guard teams based in these far-flung islands in supporting the Islanders, it added.
In a similar incident on June 22, a seriously ill two-and-a-half-year old child was airlifted from Agatti Islands in Lakshadweep to Kochi in a Naval Dornier aircraft in challenging monsoon weather conditions.
