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Injured crewman aboard ship rescued
A Navy HSC-25 helicopter crew medically evacuates an injured crewmember from a cargo ship approximately 362 miles east of Guam Monday morning. A medical corpsman from Coast Guard cutter Assateague requested the evacuation after being transferred aboard the vessel to assess the crewmember’s injuries. The HSC-25 crew from Andersen Air Force Base safely hoisted the injured crewmember and transported him to awaiting EMS at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam. (Contributed Photo)
SANTA RITA, Guam—Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Guam command center received notification at 11:40am on Sunday of an injured crewmember aboard the merchant vessel Tenso approximately 362 miles east of Guam.
The Liberian-flagged cargo ship Tenso requested a medical evacuation for a 39-year-old male crewmember who suffered lacerations to the neck and head.
Coast Guard cutter Assateague rendezvoused with the vessel at 10am Monday and transferred a medical corpsman aboard to evaluate the condition of the injured crewmember.
After the corpsman’s evaluation and consultation with a flight surgeon, it was determined that an immediate medical evacuation via air asset was warranted.
A Navy HSC-25 helicopter crew launched from Andersen Air Force Base at approximately 10:3am Monday.
The HSC-25 crew arrived on-scene and safely hoisted the injured crewmember at 11:14am Monday. Navy personnel transported the patient to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam where he was met by awaiting EMS and transported to Guam Memorial Hospital.
“Under a memorandum of understanding between the Navy and Coast Guard, HSC-25’s commanding officer has local authority to launch to support Coast Guard search and rescue missions,” said Capt. Casey White, commander of Coast Guard Sector Guam. “Their response capabilities are very similar to a Coast Guard air station, including trained rescue swimmers, and they respond very quickly.”
HSC-25 is the Navy’s only forward-deployed MH-60S expeditionary squadron. As part of Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Pacific, it provides an armed helicopter capability for U.S. 7th Fleet in support of logistics, search and rescue and humanitarian assistance missions.
HSC-25 is also the only squadron that maintains a 24-hour search and rescue and medical evacuation alert posture, directly supporting the U.S. Coast Guard, Sector Guam and Joint Region Marianas. (USCG)
