A woman has been winched to safety by the Sunshine Coast LifeFlight helicopter crew after she fell ill while on a boat at sea.
The rescue chopper was tasked to assist just after 1.30pm on Saturday and flew about 40km off the Sunshine Coast to rendezvous with the seven-metre vessel.
It’s believed the occupants of the vessel raised the alarm when they noticed the woman had become very sick and was drifting in and out of consciousness.
The rescue chopper crew initially made contact with the people onboard via marine radio, to assess what the best course of action would be.
It was decided it was safest to winch an RACQ LifeFlight Rescue aircrew officer down to the water, before swimming a short distance to the boat.
He assessed the woman’s condition and prepared her to be winched up to the aircraft.
Once on board the helicopter, the woman, who is aged in her 50s, was treated by the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue critical care doctor and Queensland Ambulance Service flight paramedic.
She was airlifted to Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The Land Rover LifeFlight Special Mission Helicopter performed this mission. The aircraft is part of LifeFlight Australia’s commercial operation, which supports the work of the community helicopter fleet, through its profit-for-purpose model.
It is currently based at the Sunshine Coast and is rotated through community bases from time to time, when operationally required.
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