Injured sailor rescued off ship off Paphos coast

An Egyptian sailor, 29, was rescued by the Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) off the Paphos coast on Tuesday, the Defence ministry announced.

In a statement, the ministry said the JRCC received an urgent call at 2:45pm saying that one of the crew onboard HELENH, a Moldavian-flagged commercial ship, was injured, suffering severe bleeding on his arm.

The ship’s captain, the statement said, asked the JRCC for the injured sailor’s immediate transfer to hospital.

Promptly responding to the call, the JRCC organised a rescue operation by dispatching a National Guard helicopter manned by an experienced nurse from the Paphos General.

Despite adverse weather conditions, the operation was executed successfully and the Egyptian sailor was transferred to the Paphos General emergency room at 4:05pm.

According to the statement, his condition is stable.

The Foreign ministry’s Consular department was informed of the incident so that the 29-year-old’s next of kin can be notified via the Egyptian embassy.

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