Arunta Rescues Badly Injured French Sailor

Arunta Rescues Badly Injured French Sailor

The crew of the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Arunta has successfully rescued the badly injured skipper of a yacht in challenging conditions in the Indian Ocean, approximately 850 nautical miles off the Western Australian coast.

Frenchman Yann Elies was competing in the round-the-world ‘Vendee Globe’ yacht race when he suffered a broken femur.

Race officials had classed Mr Elies as being in a life-threatening condition.

Using a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat, specially trained crew from HMAS Arunta extracted Mr Elies from his yacht, Generali, earlier this evening.

A doctor from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, embarked in the Anzac-Class frigate, has begun administering emergency medical treatment.

The ship’s Commanding Officer, Commander Stephen Bowater said his crew has displayed exceptional professionalism during the two days to reach the French sailor.

“From receiving the order to deploy late on Thursday evening to sailing out of HMAS Stirling in the very early hours of Friday morning, we only had a precious few hours to get the ship operational,” Commander Bowater said.

“This was achieved without compromise to the safety of the crew or the operation of the ship.

“We have proven again that the Navy constantly maintains the ability to respond at short notice to emergency situations.”

CMDR Bowater said Mr Elies is receiving excellent medical care from the RFDS doctor and is resting comfortably.

HMAS Arunta is now returning to port, where Mr Elies will be transferred to a civilian hospital.

ENDS

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