UPDATE: SEA RESCUE DURBAN – Saturday, 11th August, 2012 – Injured man casualty evacuated off boat

UPDATE: SEA RESCUE DURBAN – Saturday, 11th August, 2012 – Injured man casualty evacuated off boat:

On arrival on-scene the patient, Mr. Derrick Pienaar, 50, from Durban, was stabilized, suffering a fractured right humerus (upper right arm bone), with medication for pain and the affected arm was splinted by NSRI rescuers and by the Netcare 911 paramedic, onboard the Sport Fishing Boat.

Once stabilized he was transferred onto the NSRI sea rescue craft, secured into a Stokes Basket Stretcher, and brought to Durban's Port and he has been transferred to Umhlanga Hospital in a stable condition aboard a Netcare 911 ambulance.

Sea conditions were calm.

There is no damage to the boat which struck the whale and the incident happened 8 nautical miles South of Durban and the NSRI sea rescue boat rendezvoused with the casualty boat 6 nautical miles South of Durban. The boat Hot Stuff has come into Port unaided.

Clifford Ireland, NSRI Durban station commander, said that while on-scene a whale came past the boats and it is suspected that this was the same whale that they had struck and if it is the same whale it appeared to not be injured.

Mr. Pienaar's injury was sustained after he fell on deck after the Sport Fishing Boat, which he was a passenger on, struck a whale while the boat was underway. There were 7 people onboard the boat when the incident occurred and only Mr. Pienaar was injured.

Attached please find a photograph courtesy of Chris Botha – Netcare 911.

See original press release below……

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SEA RESCUE – DURBAN – Saturday, 11th August, 2012. Vessel collides with whale, casualty evacuation of one injured man:

At 09h39, Saturday, 11th August, NSRI Durban volunteer sea rescue duty crew were activated following reports of the 35 foot Sport Fishing Motor Catamaran Hot Stuff collided with a whale and one adult male onboard reported to be seriously injured after allegedly being thrown forward on deck colliding with deck structures sustaining suspected fractures to his right arm.

Paul Bevis, NSRI Durban duty coxswain, said that the NSRI Durban volunteer sea rescue duty crew launched the sea rescue craft Eikos Rescuer II accompanied by a Netcare 911 paramedic and responded to rendezvous with the casualty boat 8 nautical miles off-shore of Durban while the Transnet National Ports Authority rescue helicopter was placed on alert and the Provincial Government Emergency Medical Services (EMS) duty doctor in Cape Town was consulted to assist in deciding if the patient should be airlifted to hospital.

On arrival on-scene NSRI rescuers and the Netcare 911 paramedic boarded the vessel and the patient has been stabilized and he will be transferred onto our sea rescue craft and brought to shore and transported to hospital by a Netcare 911 ambulance.

A helicopter evacuation has been ruled out as the patient has been satisfactorily stabilized for the sea rescue craft to transport him to shore.

It is unknown at this stage the damage to the Catamaran and the fate of the whale is unknown.


UPDATE TO FOLLOW


-ENDS-


Released by:


Craig Lambinon
Sea Rescue Communications