After an 11 hour flight from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona an elite team of Air Force para-rescue personnel jumped into the Pacific Ocean to rescue injured Chinese sailors after their fishing vessel burned and sank.
Eleven sailors—two critically injured—were picked up by a Venezuelan fishing boat about 1,100 nautical miles off the coast of Mexico, according to Capt. Susan Harrington, an Air Force spokeswoman at Davis-Monthan in Arizona. The hurt sailors were suffering from bad burns after the fire forced the crew to abandon ship.
After the flight from Davis-Monthan, airmen jumped from HC-130J aircraft with two inflatable zodiac boats to reach the ship Saturday and provide lifesaving medical treatment.
Three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters were also sent in the rescue and they will be used on Monday to hoist the injured sailors and rescue team from the ship for transport, said Harrington. Via an airport in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the injured will then be taken to a burn facility in La Jolla, California. – Air force Times
Due to the great distances involved a KC-135 Stratotanker was also sent to refuel aircraft during the mission.
Featured image of HH60 Pave Hawk – American Air Day Duxford by By Tim Felce (Airwolfhound) , via Wikimedia Commons
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