A major rescue system made up of the National Navy vessel Germinal, the Panther helicopter and a Customs plane was engaged to come to the aid of six boaters in serious difficulty on their broken down boat.
Last Friday, November 10, late in the afternoon, the surveillance frigate Germinal was engaged by the CROSS Antilles-Guyane to rescue a boat adrift following an engine failure in the North-West of the the island of Saint Lucia.
In difficult weather conditions, the Panther helicopter from Flotilla 36F on board the frigate took off very quickly in order to relocate the boat which was emitting a distress signal, a first geographical position having previously been communicated by the Beach aircraft. Craft from French customs.
The helicopter diver, winched aboard the boat, carried out an assessment of the situation and a direct exchange with the six passengers.
After an initial assessment, and taking into account the deteriorating weather conditions, the decision to airlift the six crew members aboard the Germinal was taken. Safe and sound, the castaways were brought back to Fort-de-France in the evening.
This operation is a huge reminder of the importance of seafarers’ solidarity! _AF
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