TRI SERVICES SAVE LIFE OF WOMAN FROM TRISTAN DA CUNHA
By J. Brock (FINN)
Armed Services based at Mount Pleasant in the Falklands have taken part in a dramatic search and rescue operation to aid 33 year old Sandra Rogers, a resident of the South Atlantic Island of Tristan da Cunha. Sandra had been ill with a kidney complaint and because there is no air strip on the remote island she sought passage aboard the cruise ship, M/S EXPLORER, which would eventually get her to the Falkland Islands where she could be medivaced to the United Kingdom. The alternative for her was to wait until January and take a fishing boat to South Africa. Given what happened to Mrs. Rogers onboard M/S EXPLORER, to wait may have cost her her life. She left Tristan da Cunha on Saturday, 24 October to begin her unique medical journey which took her 3,000 miles South, on order to get her 8,000 miles north to a UK hospital.
Mrs. Rogers' condition worsened as the cruise vessel reached the South Atlantic Island of South Georgia and the Military Doctor there, in consultation with authorities at Mount Pleasant, decided to initiate an air/sea rescue so that Ms. Rogers could get treatment more immediately. M/S EXPLORER made good progress towards the Falklands, which are 800 miles away from South Georgia and a rescue was initiated at 6:00 PM LMT on Tuesday evening (03 November) when M/S Explorer was 300 miles from the Falklands.
Ships that stood by to aid in the rescue were HMS SUTHERLAND, and RFA GOLD ROVER. A C-130 from 1312 Flight RAF based at Mount Pleasant will guide a Search and Rescue Helicopter from 78 Sqdn RAF towards the vessel by keeping the ship in radar contact and will provide communications and emergency support if required. At 12:30 LMT on 03 November a Seaking Search and Rescue helicopter piloted by Sqdn Leader Steve Harwood took off drom Mount Pleasant for a fuel stop with RAF GOLD ROVER where the first refuelling operation took place. Then, it was off to HMS SUTHERLAND for a second refuelling, this time without landing on the ship. The seas were very rough and the hose had to be winched up to the helicopter which, at times, was only 15 feet above the swelling sea.
Once the M/S EXPLORER was located, Mrs Rogers and her sister, Mrs. Felicity Glass, who accompanied her were safely winched on to the Seaking helicopter. Where a Military doctor, Sqdn Leader Tim Greenish attended Mrs. Rogers. Surgeon Lt. Cdr Richard Thomas from HMS SUTHERLAND also stood by in case he was needed during the third refuelling stop. After landing on the Football Pitch near the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Stanley, Falkland Islands, Sqdn Leader Hayward and his crew, Co-Pilot, Flt. Lt. Al Connor, winch/Radar Operator Flt Sgt Doug Cripps and Winchman, Flt Sgt Gary Forsyth could call it a day.
At the KEMH Mrs. Rogers was met not only by medical personnel but by the parish Bishop for the South Atlantic, Monsignor Tony Agreiter. Also there was a specialist medical team which had flown to the Falklands a day before on an RAF Tristar.
It was decided soon after the arrival that Mrs. Rogers would need to be flown immediately to the UK for treatment and at 9:40 AM on Wednesday a Seaking Helicopter again landed on the football pitch to pick her and Felicity Glass up. Sandra and her sister were very quickly loaded on to the helicopter and by 10:20 AM they took off on their way to Mount Pleasant International Airport.
The tristar took off at approximately midday for the UK.
Since this story broke, Mrs. Rogers recovered un the UK and returned to Tristan da Cunha on the M/V Bremen
