SEA SHANNON

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Crew member medevaced after inhaling noxious fumes

The RFA 'Tideforce' picked up a distress call from the 'Sea Shannon' on March 26, 2020, shortly after 11 a.m. after a crew member inhaled noxious fumes while cleaning rust in the cargo hold. The ship was bound from Teignmouth for Ghent and was running low on oxygen for treating the sailor's injuries. The 'Tideforce', which had been carrying out aviation training off the Devon and Dorset coasts, was only a few miles away and diverted to rendezvours with the 'Sea Shannon'. Once close, she sent her rescue boat to the freighter with her Medical Technician aboard. He found the sailor was in poor shape, but lucid and his injuries were not life threatening. He provided oxygen from the 'Tideforce''s sickbay to help the victim until the Coastguard helicopter Rescue 175 from Lee-on-Solent arrived on the scene, and a paramedic was dropped off. They helped the sailor into a stretcher and got him up on to the deck before he was winched aboard the helicopter and flown to a hospital ashore, while the Med Tech returned to his tanker. The whole rescue lasted more than 2,5 hours.