Tag 78: Medical emergency - helicopter rescue in the Indian Ocean

At 9 a.m. an announcement from the hotel manager that a cardiologist is urgently needed. Half an hour later, an announcement from the captain. We need to airlift a guest. But to reach the range of the Australian helicopters, we just turned around and it will take approximately 10 hours. The impact on our further travel itinerary is currently uncertain.

At 7 p.m., the helicopter arrives to retrieve the patient. A stretcher and two crew members are lowered onto the sealed upper deck. While the patient is being transferred and prepared for transportation, the helicopter circles above the ship. The patient and crew members are hoisted up to the helicopter, loaded in, and immediately headed towards the Australian coast. The whole process takes only a few minutes. Professional work!

Afterwards, we turn back on a westward course. According to current knowledge, we will reach Mauritius with a delay of approximately 20 hours. Despite "full steam ahead", the 300 km return journey cannot be made up for.