The Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) search-and-rescue unit Rescue 10 was activated on Saturday (Sept 12) to evacuate a person from a ship at sea who required urgent medical attention.
An H225M medium-lift helicopter was deployed for the mission, safely transporting the patient to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for further treatment.
The RSAF said the patient was transferred safely to SGH after the helicopter arrived at the hospital’s new helipad along College Road, near the new emergency department.
Photographs released by the air force showed RSAF personnel transferring the patient on a stretcher to medical staff at the hospital.
The medical evacuation was the latest in a series of missions involving Rescue 10, which is maintained around the clock to respond to life-saving emergencies at short notice.
Rescue 10 ready around the clock
Rescue 10 is the RSAF’s dedicated search-and-rescue capability for urgent medical evacuations and other life-saving missions.
The unit is frequently called upon to evacuate people who require immediate medical attention, including crew members and passengers aboard civilian vessels operating in waters near Singapore.
The aircraft used in Saturday’s operation was an H225M medium-lift helicopter, which achieved full operational capability with the RSAF in April 2024.
The helicopter has a range of more than 400 nautical miles, or about 740km, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Defence.
Another ship evacuation just two weeks earlier
The latest mission came only about two weeks after another Rescue 10 evacuation involving a person aboard a ship.
On Sept 4, the RSAF activated the unit to evacuate another patient from a vessel at sea to SGH. That patient was reported to be in a stable condition after being transferred to the hospital.
Such missions require close coordination between the air force, medical personnel and maritime authorities to move patients from vessels at sea to hospital care as quickly as possible.
In earlier 2026 operations, the RSAF has also used Rescue 10 to evacuate vessel crew members experiencing medical emergencies.
In February, for example, an H225M helicopter was activated to evacuate a bulk-carrier crew member who required urgent medical attention. The patient was conscious and stable during the transfer, according to the Ministry of Defence.
SGH’s new helipad strengthens emergency response
The latest evacuation also highlights the role of SGH’s new helipad along College Road.
The facility provides a dedicated landing point near the hospital’s new emergency department, allowing patients arriving by helicopter to be transferred directly to medical teams.
SGH and the RSAF had conducted a medical evacuation exercise at the new facility in June to strengthen their readiness to respond to critical emergencies.
Singapore’s search-and-rescue operations involve coordination between multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Health, Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force.
For people working or travelling aboard vessels in waters around Singapore, the ability to rapidly move a critically ill or injured person from a ship to a hospital can be crucial.
The latest Rescue 10 mission is another example of that emergency response system being put into action, with the patient safely transferred to SGH for further medical care.
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