SCDF deploys marine vessels to rescue injured crew member

SINGAPORE — A crew member who was unable to move after a suspected slipped disc was rescued from a vessel by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Monday night (Aug 16).

SCDF said it received a call for assistance from the vessel, which was anchored in the southeast of Singapore, at about 7pm on Monday.

It deployed two marine vessels. Upon arriving, SCDF marine specialists, some of whom were trained as emergency medical technicians, boarded the affected vessel to assess the situation.

"The crew member was found conscious but with limited mobility on the vessel's main deck," said SCDF in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

"He was suspected to have suffered a slipped disc, so the marine specialists proceeded with great caution in handling the casualty and carefully secured him onto a stretcher."

At the same time, a crew of marine specialists set up a system to lower the injured man from the ship to the rescue vessel.

The rescue and evacuation operation had to be coordinated carefully due to the choppy seas and windy conditions, said SCDF.

After the injured man was safely lowered onto the deck of the rescue vessel, he was taken to Marina South Pier, where an SCDF emergency ambulance was standing by to receive him.

He was taken to Singapore General Hospital. CNA

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