The crew of a Bell 407GXP operated by Simrik Air in Nepal has performed a life-saving medevac of a 25-year-old woman following the crash of an Airbus H125 near Kathmandu, Nepal. The patient received pre-hospital care and was brought to one of Nepal Mediciti Hospital’s helipads where two doctors were on standby with lifesaving equipment.
It was reported that an Altitude Air Airbus H125 departed from Gorkha District at 7:40 a.m. on Sept. 8 with six passengers and one pilot on board, and was returning to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The aircraft was expected to arrive at Tribhuvan airport at 8:18 a.m., but lost contact with the control tower around 8 a.m. The helicopter crashed in a dense forest in Nuwakot District, roughly 50 miles northwest of Kathmandu. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Simrik Air received a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) call for one passenger who survived the crash, and responded with a Bell 407GXP equipped with medical gear.
Adverse weather with thick fog at the crash site left the aircrew unable to land or perform a human sling operation safely; crewmembers instead carried the patient to a flat surface roughly two miles from the crash site where the helicopter was able to land, though visibility was still very poor.
The patient was diagnosed with hypothermia, and suffered multiple rib fractures, a spine fracture and hip bone fracture. The on-board medical team treated the hypothermia first, according to pre-hospital care protocol. The patient was transported safely to a Mediciti helipad, and then to the emergency department of the hospital.
Nepal Mediciti Hospital is one of the youngest medical facilities in Nepal, and provides pre-hospital care services through emergency medical service (EMS) and HEMS. Two other hospitals in the Kathmandu region are also providing this service, and numerous lives have been saved as a result.