SAR Team Evacuating Filipino Citizens Who Stroke

The SAR team evacuates a Filipino citizen due to illness in the waters of the Bengal Strait, Aceh Besar District, Thursday (19/5/2022) night. ANTARA/HO/Humas Basarnas Banda Aceh

BANDA ACEH - The Banda Aceh SAR team evacuated a Filipino citizen who was a crew member of a foreign cargo ship because he had a stroke on his voyage.

Head of the Banda Aceh National SAR Agency (Basarnas) Budiono said the victim was named Antonio V Braga. The victim was a crew member of the Marshall Islands-flagged MV Mairini.

"The victim was evacuated because he had a stroke. The evacuation took place in the Bengal Strait, the waters between Aceh Island, Aceh Besar Regency, and Weh Island, Sabang City. The evacuation was using the KN Kresna SAR ship", Budiono said, quoted by Antara, Friday, May 20.

The evacuation started with information from Captain MV Mairini. At that time, the cargo ship MV Mairini sailed from Luo Yuan, China to Penang, Malaysia. On the way, the victim suffered a stroke and required further medical treatment.

From this information, the Banda Aceh Basarnas dispatched a team on Thursday, May 19 at around 21.40 WIB. The SAR team departed using KN Kresna from Ulee Lheue Harbor to the evacuation point. The evacuation point is 7.5 nautical miles from the port.

"The evacuation process took less than three hours. From Ulee Lheue Port, the victim was taken to the Zainoel Abidin Regional General Hospital in Banda Aceh using an ambulance for further treatment", Budiono said.

In addition to the Banda Aceh Basarnas personnel, Budiono said, the SAR operation also involved health quarantine officers, police, immigration, TNI, customs, and other relevant agencies.

"With the completion of the medical evacuation, the rescue operation for the foreign nationals will be stopped and the personnel involved will be returned to their respective units", Budiono said.