Exclusive Video: Colombian Navy Rescues Sick Sailor From Heavy Seas
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It's being called a first-of-its-kind rescue in the waters off South America and video of the rescue was obtained exclusively by CBSMiami.com.
It was a medical emergency aboard a Peruvian submarine off the coast of Colombia.
The BAP Islay was 168 miles off the coast of Cartagena on August 18th when a distress call went out for sick sailor suffering from seizures.
The Islay has been on an extended mission, crossing through the Panama Canal, from the Pacific, heading to the US east coast for international naval training exercises.
The Peruvian sub surfaced so the sailor, identified as Sea Second Officer Carlos Fancicso Rojas, could be transported to a hospital in Cartagena by a Colombian Navy Helicopter.
The video shows rescuers being carefully lowered to the submarine so the sick sailor could be placed into a rescue stretcher which was then lifted back into the helicopter.
The sub was so far out that the flight took 90 minutes to reach the submarines location, in extremely rough seas.
The Colombian Navy says it has rescued more than 530 people this year in the Caribbean.
Click here to watch Brian Andrews' report.
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