The seventy year old was transported to the military airport of Latina, to be then transferred to the hospital of the capital of the Pontine
A HH-139 helicopter of the Italian Air Force intervened in the early afternoon yesterday to collect a man of 75 with a hip fracture on the island of Ponza and in need of urgent transport to a hospital.
The helicopter, one of the assets of the Armed Force always ready to take off on the national territory for this kind of transport, was immediately lifted by the military base of Pratica di Mare - site of 85 ° SAR Center (Search and Rescue) of the 15 ° Stormo - made a stop on the Latina air base for the embarkation of a medical team and reached in a few minutes the island of Lazio. Once the patient has embarked, with the support of the specialized team of on-board operators and aero-rescuer of the crew, the helicopter has returned to the military airport of Latina, home of the 70 flight school ° AM Stormo, which has in the circumstance provided logistical support for the special health mission.
From there the patient was then transferred by ambulance to the hospital of the Pontine capital.The medical transport, requested by the Prefecture of Latina, was coordinated by the Air Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (FE), the command and control center of the Air Force Military from which all operational activities of this kind are managed. This is one of the services that the Air Force carries out for the community, a typical example of dual use of the skills and professionalism of the Defense at the service of the country. SAR - search and rescue - is a peculiar specialty that arises from the need to operate for the search and rescue of crews and military personnel in difficulty, both in Italy and abroad. This ability, made possible by the use of technologically advanced means and crews trained in all environmental conditions, can be addressed - as in this and many other circumstances - directly to the citizen. In 2018 alone, 115 missions of this kind were carried out by transport aircraft and helicopters of the Italian Air Force, for a total of over 310 flight hours and 110 patients - including many children - transported.
The service is available without interruption 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, covers the entire national territory, including the islands, and is insured for public utility missions such as the emergency medical transport of people in imminent danger. of life, or that of organs and medical teams for transplants.