Okinawan-based airmen and sailors from Guam came to the aid of two civilian mariners on a freighter more than 750 nautical miles north of Saipan on Friday night after the men were seriously injured when cargo shifted unexpectedly, officials said Monday.
One of the men, a 21-year-old mariner, died Sunday after going into cardiac arrest shortly before being airlifted to Guam Memorial Hospital on Sunday, said nursing supervisor Julietta Quinene. He had suffered severe head trauma, Quinene said.
A 35-year-old mariner, who suffered several broken bones, was in stable condition Monday, Quinene said. He is expected to be transferred to a hospital in the Philippines on Wednesday, she said.
Names of the crewmembers were not released.
Pararescuemen from the 31st Rescue Squadron and members of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron flew 4-1/2 hours from Okinawa’s Kadena Air Base on a 1st Special Operations Squadron MC-130 airplane to reach the Panamanian freighter, Occam’s Razor. They remained aboard caring for the sailors until the ship could get close enough to Guam to allow helos from the U.S. Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Five to conduct a medevac mission.
Six airmen parachuted from 3,500 feet into the Pacific Ocean and with inflatable boats they boarded the freighter and began treating the injured crew members, a Kadena Air Base news release said.
"This is one of the many scenarios Air Force rescue professionals train for, and I’m glad that we were able to respond and provide the medical assistance desperately required by those injured crew members," Maj. Jason D. Pifer, commander of the 31st Rescue Squadron, said in an e-mail to Stripes.
Pararescuemen performed CPR for nearly two hours on the 21-year-old man, moving from the ship to the helicopters Sunday, officials said.
"They did an absolutely extraordinary job. It was amazing to us with the gentleman going into cardiac arrest that they were maintaining his vital signs for almost two hours," said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lee Putnam.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Guam coordinated the rescue efforts between the airmen and sailors, said Putnam, a search and rescue specialist.
Putnam said the last time the Coast Guard on Guam called on pararescue jumpers was in 2000.
"It has to be pretty extreme for us to call on them," he said. "It’s a huge expenditure of resources to bring in a specialized team. This clearly was warranted in this case."
Air Force pararescuers are trained for unconventional rescue missions.
"In a situation like this, we were told we don’t have any time. The only choice we had was to try and get medical assistance on board … and the 31st Rescue Squadron comes as a package. We get them on scene, and they’re staged and ready to go," Punam said.
Lt. Col. Todd K. Woodrick commander of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, echoed Putnam’s praise.
"This mission highlighted the professionalism of our airmen and joint partners in the Pacific. In less than six hours, servicemembers came together to pull off a nighttime rescue mission ... by providing over 32 hours of continuous lifesaving care," Woodrick said in an e-mail to Stripes.
