The rescue chopper has hoisted a sailor to safety following a medical incident off the coast of K’gari.
The Bundaberg-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew winched a man from a small vessel, after he suffered a serious medical episode while sailing.
The rescue chopper crew was called to help the boatie just after 9am yesterday.
They arrived at the scene to find a sailing yacht with two people and a dog on board, off the western shore of the island.
A crew member was winched down into the water and climbed on board the vessel, where he found the man, aged in his 50s, suffering serious chest pain and losing consciousness.
It was decided the safest option for rescue was to move the patient to the yacht’s tender, position it away from the main vessel, then hoist both the crew member and the patient into the helicopter.
The paramedic was then able to treat the man on board the helicopter, while was flown to Hervey Bay Hospital in a stable condition.
Volunteer Marine Rescue then recovered the yacht and helped bring it, the man’s wife and their dog to safety.
