A 46-year-old Romanian crewman was airlifted from a crude oil tanker offshore of Durban on Friday after a medical emergency.
According to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), the airborne sea rescue operation was initiated on Thursday night and was carried out on Friday morning.
“NSRI Durban rescue swimmers, Netcare 911 rescue paramedics and a SA Air Force flight team in a SA Air Force 15 Squadron Oryx helicopter carried out the operation successfully,” said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
He said that the man was in a serious but stable condition.
This follows another evacuation of a 37-year-old Filipino crewman who had fallen on a cargo carrier which was approaching Port Elizabeth on Sunday.