SehaJ
Troublemaker
India’s first Rs 35-crore evacuation helicopter is being fitted with medical equipment; begins in Feb for Rs 2 lakh an hour
The services of the country’s first Medevac or medical emergency evacuation helicopter will soon be available to you — at an expensive Rs 2 lakh an hour. Once it is commissioned in February, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will operate the one-of-its-kind Rs 35-crore helicopter.
The destinations that the chopper will fly to will be decided soon. Some cities outside Mumbai may be covered. The details of how the patient will be transported to a hospital without a helipad have also not been worked out. The chopper is likely to land either on a large ground or the nearest helipad.
A Dauphin multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter having a range of 150 nautical miles is being remodelled at Pawan Hans, which provides helicopter support services to the oil sector, so that it can fit in the emergency medical equipment. Presently, only the armed forces have such air ambulances.
“While there are over 700 medical emergency evacuation helicopters in the US, there are none in India,” said ONGC chairman and managing director R K Tyagi.
Trained staff
Gurcharan Bhatura, secretary general of aviation think-tank Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, said, “Ordinary helicopters cannot offer any treatment on board, which, in times of an emergency, could make a lot of difference.”
According to a senior ONGC official, the chopper will have on board all important medical equipment (see box) and trained staff. With ONGC deciding to base the helicopter in Mumbai, personnel manning Bombay High will be the immediate beneficiaries.
On board
Oxygen cylinders, ventilator, cardiac care equipment, stretcher, defibrillator
The services of the country’s first Medevac or medical emergency evacuation helicopter will soon be available to you — at an expensive Rs 2 lakh an hour. Once it is commissioned in February, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will operate the one-of-its-kind Rs 35-crore helicopter.
The destinations that the chopper will fly to will be decided soon. Some cities outside Mumbai may be covered. The details of how the patient will be transported to a hospital without a helipad have also not been worked out. The chopper is likely to land either on a large ground or the nearest helipad.
A Dauphin multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter having a range of 150 nautical miles is being remodelled at Pawan Hans, which provides helicopter support services to the oil sector, so that it can fit in the emergency medical equipment. Presently, only the armed forces have such air ambulances.
“While there are over 700 medical emergency evacuation helicopters in the US, there are none in India,” said ONGC chairman and managing director R K Tyagi.
Trained staff
Gurcharan Bhatura, secretary general of aviation think-tank Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, said, “Ordinary helicopters cannot offer any treatment on board, which, in times of an emergency, could make a lot of difference.”
According to a senior ONGC official, the chopper will have on board all important medical equipment (see box) and trained staff. With ONGC deciding to base the helicopter in Mumbai, personnel manning Bombay High will be the immediate beneficiaries.
On board
Oxygen cylinders, ventilator, cardiac care equipment, stretcher, defibrillator
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