One German corvette and one Spanish frigate participated in a medical evacuation of a migrant previously saved in the Mediterranean Sea.
On January 28, German frigate FGS Ludwigshafen am Rhein carried out her first rescue operation on her deployment with Operation Sophia. The frigate embarked a total of 121 migrants on board.
One of the rescued migrants, according to the Spanish Navy, had suffered a fractured ankle and needed further medical attention. The German corvette’s helipad is however too small for standard-sized helicopters which required the evacuation operation to be carried out in two phases.
The migrant was first transferred from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Numancia with a RHIB boat. An AB-212 helicopter embarked on ESPS Numancia then transferred the migrant to the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour which has a Role 2 Medical Treatment Facility at its disposal.
In another rescue mission performed by EU NAVFOR Op Sophia ships, carried out January 31, Spanish, German and British units worked together to rescue 134 migrants.
While conducting an operational flight mission in the early morning of yesterday, Spanish air force aircraft VIGMA D-4 detected a rubber boat in distress in International Waters north of Libyan coast.
The German corvette Ludwigshafen am Rhein, following an Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre’s request, was then tasked to intervene with the support of the Royal Navy ship Enterprise resulting in the rescue of 134 migrants who where then transferred to an Italian Coast Guard vessel operating in the area.