Dramatic medical evacuation exercise by UNIFIL peacekeepers

UNIFIL French peacekeepers with medical capabilities monitor their substitute patient.

One of three substitute patients is carried by stretcher in the medical evacuation exercise.

Another of the substitute patients walks carefully on foot assisted by two medically trained UNIFIL peacekeepers.

Substitute patients and UNIFIL medical experts are flown from Deir Kifa to Beirut in the training exercise.

Russian pilots who work with UNIFIL land the helicopter on the roof of the hospital in the heart of Beirut.

Medical staff at St Georges hospital in Beirut receive the evacuated substitute patients.

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6 Jul 2018

Dramatic medical evacuation exercise by UNIFIL peacekeepers

Several injured patients, two on stretchers, were rushed to a waiting helicopter. This was part of a real-life scenario and a dramatic air medical evacuation training exercise for UNIFIL peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon.

The exercise involved medically trained UN Peacekeepers from France and pilots from Russia.  They successfully carried out the task of quickly and safely evacuating three injured patients – all peacekeepers playing the role of patients - from the UNIFIL base near Deir Kifa and transporting them to St George’s Hospital in the heart of Beirut.

As a peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL must be in a state of readiness for emergency situations. This particular exercise is unusual as it monitors the mission’s capabilities to evacuate multiple injured people by air to a hospital in the busy capital city.  The training is in addition to ongoing, monthly medical evacuation exercises to ensure that UNIFIL peacekeepers with medical and aviation capabilities work together to respond rapidly to any medical emergency.

 
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Article: Aoibheann O’Sullivan
Video Camera: Mohamad Hamze
Video Edit: Aoibheann O’Sullivan, Suzane Badereddine
Translation: Ghifar Charafeddine
Music: Jon Luc Hefferman - Upbeat
Stills: Pascual Gorriz 
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