A crewman on board a cargo ship off the coast of the South Island was rescued after suffering a medical emergency at sea.
The man, an engineer on board the New Zealand-registered Anatoki, was in a moderate to serious condition when St John Ambulance paramedics reached him about 5km off the coast of Timaru about 9.30am yesterday.
Debbie-Kaye Gardner, St John Ambulance Timaru station manager, and another crew member conducted the medical rescue on a pilot boat, having to "clamber" on board the ship to reach the man, and stretcher him off.
"They weighed anchor until we came out," she said.
"We had a really calm trip for retrieval."
She added: "We stabilised him on the ship and then he was brought in."
The man was taken to Timaru Hospital's intensive care unit, where he remained this morning, Ms Gardner said.
Sea rescues were "not uncommon" for St John Timaru, she said.
By NZME. News Service
