PORT BLAIR: A tourist who was carried away from shore by sea currents was whisked away to a Port Blair hospital in a critical condition by a Coast Guard helicopter on Monday.
Three tourists from New Delhi were swimming near the famous Radha Nagar Beach on Havelock island in the Andamans when they were washed away out to sea by strong waves. Two of them were rescued soon enough but the third, Neeraj, was in a poor condition by the time help reached him. He was initially taken to a primary health centre on Havelock but in view of his critical condition, an SOS was sent to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard pressed one of its Chetak helicopters into operation and the tourist was carried to the G B Pant Hospital in Port Blair on Monday afternoon.
“We had to reconfigure the Chetak into an ambulance,” said commandant Dalip Singh of the Coast Guard.
The patient’s condition is said to have improved to stable later in the evening.