April was a busy month for the Mackay-based BMA CQ Rescue crew, flying 70 missions across central and north Queensland.
The service averages 2.5 emergency responses a day, from medical emergencies to search and rescue tasks.
The team say the search and rescue off Calder Island last week stand out as a memorable job this month, with one pilot recounting how they pulled it off.
On the morning of April 30, the crew were called out after receiving a distress call from a capsizing vessel in the Whitsundays.
The crew were able to locate the vessel and the two sailors who were aboard in a narrow inlet hidden against a steep cliff.
Thankfully, both people, a man and a woman were rescued successfully.
BMA CQ Rescue pilot Leigh Wilkinson said it was a hard mission.
“It was a particularly dark night and those conditions made locating the people difficult,” the pilot said.
“The vessel had wedged in a small inlet up against a vertical rock ledge,” they said.
The organisation says this mission serves as a powerful reminder of the critical role the service plays in our region, and the importance of the community to ensure that we keep flying.
Where it’s a remote medical emergency or a life-or-death rescue in the middle of the night, they say they’re are always there to help.
