Indian Navy pilots on Friday in a special sortie evacuated a Maldivian heart attack patient from one of its islands and flew her to capital city Male for treatment. The Advanced light Helicopter MKIII that was used for medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) was the one gifted to Maldives in April this year. This was the first MEDEVAC sortie of the chopper.

The action took place at 3 pm on Friday, when Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Advanced light Helicopter MKIII, provided by Indian Government and based at ISHKANDHAR airbase in laamu Atoll (Male) was tasked to immediately evacuate one woman named Hareera Ibrahim. She has suffered a massive heart attack and was surviving on ventilator. The patient was in the Regional Hospital on Veymandoo island of Thaa Atoll.

The crew of MNDF AlH Helicopter comprising Indian Navy pilots and divers was airborne at 4.15 pm for the MEDEVAC sortie and landed on a football field in Veymandoo. The patient, two doctors and the patient’s son were embarked in the helicopter and quickly flown to Male, where the patient was transferred to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital by 6.30 pm. “We wish the patient a speedy recovery,” the Indian Navy spokesperson DK Sharma said while giving out details of the evacuation operation.

Indian Navy, which has a strong presence in the Indian Ocean, has always been very prompt to emergency and security needs of Maldives.

Though the Indian Navy has in the past too responded to emergency situations but what makes this trip unique is that this is the first time Indian AlH was used for MEDEVAC. This is the first AlH gifted to Maldives in April this year and is being operated by Indian Navy pilots due to shortage of aviators in the country. However, India is training Maldivian pilots to help them operate this chopper and the Dornier that it plans to give them soon.

“This chopper is now asset available to Maldives which they can use for emergency and humanitarian relief situations,” Sharma said.

India and Maldives are close maritime neighbours with strong defence and diplomatic relations. The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, in conjunction with MNDF, regularly undertake surveillance in the Maldivian Exclusive Economic Zone. Apart from looking after maritime security and disaster relief Indian Navy is also helping Maldives in capacity building by providing helicopters and small ships and training their defence personnel.