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Navy-Air Force effort rescues 2 crew members

By Helen Altonn

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 29, 2008

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Two Navy helicopters and six Air Force pararescue jumpers participated in the dramatic rescue of two injured crew members on a Panamanian freighter early Saturday in the western Pacific.

One of the injured men, a 21-year-old Filipino, died after arriving at the Guam Naval Hospital, according to the Coast Guard in Honolulu.

The other man, a 35-year-old Indian, was reported in stable condition.

The Coast Guard in Honolulu received a call about 2 a.m. Thursday about an accident on the ship, Occam's Razor, said Lt. Brian Murphy. Two crew members were shifting cargo when a heavy object fell and struck them both on the head, he said.

The 886-foot bulk carrier was en route to Chile from Guam, but turned back and called for help, he said.

The call was referred to a Coast Guard subunit in Guam where a flight surgeon recommended medical evacuation as soon as possible, Murphy said.

The 21-year-old man had a severe gash on the forehead and was reported unconscious and unresponsive but breathing, he said. The other man had a deep cut on the forehead but was conscious and mobile.

Dispatching the parachute team was an "unusual course of action," Murphy said, but there were no ships within 200 miles of the freighter that could provide medical assistance.

Two Navy helicopters and a team of six pararescue jumpers from Kadena Air Base in Japan arrived at the scene, about 775 miles northeast of Guam, early Saturday morning, he said. The pararescue jumpers dropped into the sea and boarded the ship to render medical assistance.

Once the ship was within helicopter range of Guam -- 125 miles -- the patients were hoisted aboard the choppers, Murphy said.

"Apparently the 21-year-old went into cardiac arrest prior to the hoist, so the pararescue jumpers rather heroically conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient basically from the time of hoist until the time they arrived at the Guam Naval Hospital," he said. "They were able to restore his pulse and breathing. He had a collapsed lung as well."

His lung was inflated and he was breathing again but the injuries to his head were so severe he died in the hospital, Murphy said.

 

Two Navy helicopters and six Air Force pararescue jumpers participated in the dramatic rescue of two injured crew members on a Panamanian freighter early Saturday in the western Pacific.

One of the injured men, a 21-year-old Filipino, died after arriving at the Guam Naval Hospital, according to the Coast Guard in Honolulu.

The other man, a 35-year-old Indian, was reported in stable condition.

The Coast Guard in Honolulu received a call about 2 a.m. Thursday about an accident on the ship, Occam's Razor, said Lt. Brian Murphy. Two crew members were shifting cargo when a heavy object fell and struck them both on the head, he said.

The 886-foot bulk carrier was en route to Chile from Guam, but turned back and called for help, he said.

The call was referred to a Coast Guard subunit in Guam where a flight surgeon recommended medical evacuation as soon as possible, Murphy said.

The 21-year-old man had a severe gash on the forehead and was reported unconscious and unresponsive but breathing, he said. The other man had a deep cut on the forehead but was conscious and mobile.

Dispatching the parachute team was an "unusual course of action," Murphy said, but there were no ships within 200 miles of the freighter that could provide medical assistance.

Two Navy helicopters and a team of six pararescue jumpers from Kadena Air Base in Japan arrived at the scene, about 775 miles northeast of Guam, early Saturday morning, he said. The pararescue jumpers dropped into the sea and boarded the ship to render medical assistance.

Once the ship was within helicopter range of Guam -- 125 miles -- the patients were hoisted aboard the choppers, Murphy said.

"Apparently the 21-year-old went into cardiac arrest prior to the hoist, so the pararescue jumpers rather heroically conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient basically from the time of hoist until the time they arrived at the Guam Naval Hospital," he said. "They were able to restore his pulse and breathing. He had a collapsed lung as well."

His lung was inflated and he was breathing again but the injuries to his head were so severe he died in the hospital, Murphy said.

 

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