The captain of an Italian merchant vessel was evacuated by the Armed Forces of Malta on Sunday afternoon following a heart attack that he suffered while on duty.

Just after 1600CEST, an Italian registered merchant vessel, the “FT-FOCE”, reported through its shipping agent in Malta that its captain had suffered a heart attack and required immediate evacuation for treatment in hospital.

The AFM’s Air Wing Alouette rescue-helicopter was immediately scrambled into the air, with the AFM’s principal medical officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Galea on board. The vessel was located some 12 nautical miles off Zonqorr Point on the Hurd bank, and its 48-year old skipper, Gioacchino Tangari, was taken for urgent medical treatment at Mater Dei Hospital.

In a media statement, the AFM said that it had been involved in three medical evacuations in less than 24 hours making use of Air Wing and Italian Air Force rescue-helicopters during local operations in which casualties were treated by AFM rescuers on site prior to being airlifted to hospital.

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