The Stornoway Coastguard helicopter crew have received two highly prestigious awards for undertaking a very difficult rescue at sea in adverse weather.
The lives of two severely injured fishermen were saved in the mission.
The coveted awards - a Crew Commendation from the Shipwrecked Mariner's Society and
a Brave@Heart award from the Scottish Government - recognised the team's professionalism
and fortitude in responding to the complex rescue.
And there was a huge surprise for one of the team when First Minister, John Swinney, announced Bristow winch paramedic Norman ‘Nam’ MacLeod as winner of the St Andrew's Award for his role in the rescue. The St Andrew's Award is reserved only for exceptional acts of bravery.
The awards were presented on the same day, 1 October, at separate ceremonies in London and Edinburgh.
► Helicopter winchman honoured for daring rescue at sea
Last November, the helicopter team were tasked to reports of injured sailors on a Spanish supertrawler FV Lodairo some 110 miles west of Lewis.
On scene, the first big challenge was getting winch paramedic, Norman 'Nam' Macleod, on board the ship, as it pitched and corkscrewed dramatically into heavy seas.
Once safely on the vessel, Nam was faced with a desperate situation. Two men suffered horrendous injuries after an accident with the ship’s winching gear.
One had his leg ripped off. The second casualty would later lose both legs due to the severity of his injuries
Both were at risk of death, and no-one onboard spoke English.
“When I touched down on that deck I can honestly say I encountered the 'startle phenomenon'” said Mr Macleod.
“I've been a paramedic for almost 30 years and this was the most challenging scene I've ever had to deal with. For the first few seconds it was hard to take everything in and understand what I needed to do first.
"Thankfully it didn't last. My training and experience kicked in and I got to work. I spent an hour on the boat and it was the quickest hour of my life.”
Mr Macleod set to work, stabilising both casualties and then, with the rest of the
team, winching them to the aircraft and speeding them to hospital - while continuing
to provide critical care for them both.
Bristow’s UK SAR director Graham Hamilton who represented the crew at the Brave@Heart
event said: “Search-and-rescue is a team game. On this occasion things could have
ended up very badly for both the injured men.
“But between Nam on the deck, the crew in the air, the team at the hospital and everyone
else behind the scenes, from the hangar to the offices, they got the best possible
result. The two suffered life-changing injuries, but their lives were undoubtedly
saved.
“This was an exceptional event, with an exceptional response, and everyone who contributed to the tasking should feel enormously proud of their effort.”
He added: “The awards were presented for a uniquely challenging situation. But the crew's response proved once again that our people are among the best in the world at SAR. They did precisely what they train for and two lives were saved.”
Stornoway Coastguard helicopter heroes presented with two prestigious bravery awards
4 October 2024