The woman was picked up by an Air Force crew from the deck of the "Balmoral" ship and urgently transported to the "G. Brotzu ”of Cagliari
An HH-139B helicopter of the Italian Air Force intervened today, Tuesday 18 October, to recover a 77-year-old woman, of German nationality, who was taken seriously ill while on board the cruise ship "Balmoral". off the southern coast of Sardinia.
The helicopter, one of the assets of the Armed Force always ready for take-off on the national territory also for this kind of interventions, immediately took off from the military airport of Decimomannu (CA), home of the 80th SAR Combat Center (Search and Rescue) of the 15th Wing. Reaching the ship at approximately 11:20 am, the crew recovered the woman in a few minutes using the rescue winch, an indispensable tool where, as in this case, it is not possible to land. Once boarding was completed safely, the helicopter headed for the “G. Brotzu ”of Cagliari.
The request for intervention, received from the Prefecture of Cagliari, was authorized by the Rescue Coordination Center of the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (FE), the command and control center of the Air Force from which all operational activities of this kind are managed. .
At the end of the rescue, the military crew returned to the military base of Decimomannu, where they resumed the search and rescue service.
The 80th CSAR Center is one of the departments of the 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force which guarantees the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty every single day of the year, and contributes to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons. at sea or in the mountains, the emergency medical transport of the sick in danger of life and the rescue of seriously traumatized patients. From its constitution to today, the crews of the 15 ° Stormo have saved about 7.300 people in danger of life. The 15 ° Stormo operates under the command of the Forces for Mobility and Support (CFMS) of the Air Squad Command.