Coast Guard, San Francisco Paramedics Rescue Accidentally Poisoned Woman from Sailboat
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew worked with San Francisco Fire personnel early Tuesday to medevac an accidentally poisoned woman from a sailboat almost 400 miles off the coast of Bodega Bay.
At around 1:45 p.m. Monday, the Eleventh Coast Guard District Command Center received a notification via satellite from the captain of the sailboat Cibola, reporting a 23-year-old woman who had accidently ingested antifreeze. The sailboat was approximately 380 miles west of Bodega Bay.
Due to the distance off shore and range limitations of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco's MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, Coast Guard officials deployed a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from San Diego to the San Francisco air station. Officials additionally diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) to serve as a refueling platform for the Jayhawk helicopter.
The Jayhawk helicopter arrived at Air Station San Francisco at around 9 p.m. Monday. After refueling and crew change, a San Francisco Fire Department paramedic boarded before the helicopter departed on the mission.
A Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan aircrew launched around 9:55 p.m. Monday to provide cover for the Jayhawk crew throughout the mission and rendezvoused with the Jayhawk before both crews headed offshore.
The Jayhawk crew landed on the Midgett to refuel approximately 230 miles west of San Francisco around 11:45 p.m. before proceeding to the Cibola. The Jayhawk arrived at the Cibola's location around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday morning and lowered the rescue swimmer to assess the situation.
The rescue swimmer helped hoist the woman into the helicopter. Once the rescue swimmer was retrieved, the helicopter crew headed back to the Midgett to refuel again.
"The San Francisco Fire Department paramedic's assistance was vital to saving the sailor's life as he assisted the Coast Guard rescue swimmer to stabilize and care for her during the four-hour transit back to San Francisco," said Eleventh District search mission coordinator Douglas Samp.
The Jayhawk crew returned to the Midgett around 4 a.m. before flying back to Air Station San Francisco.
"This was a highly complex medical evacuation performed at night, off a small sailboat, hundreds of miles offshore that tested the limits of our crews and equipment," said Samp. "The sailor's life was saved by the dedicated teamwork of the San Francisco Fire Department and Coast Guard personnel across eight different units."
The woman was transferred to awaiting EMS in stable condition and transported to Zuckerburg San Francisco General Hospital.
