MAF Guinea carried out medevac flights following a tragedy which sparked a wave of emotion in the country.
An MAF plane joined a massive national rescue effort after a horrific bus crash in Guinea, which killed 16 people and left more than 50 injured.
The authorities called for help from aviation operators following the tragedy when a tyre blow-out caused the long-distance bus to plunge into a ravine during its journey in the south of the nation.
The bus was travelling from Macenta to Conakry on April 24 when it overturned close to the sub-prefecture of Tekoulo, in the prefecture of Gueckedou.
Health authorities said 45 of the injured were initially admitted to the Macenta hospital, including 23 seriously injured, and seven others were taken to the Gueckedou hospital.
MAF flew seven patients, accompanied by local medical staff, from Nzerekore to the capital Conakry in two separate flights piloted by Jonathan Blomberg and Brad Ballin.
On the first flight were a 35-year-old woman, a 42-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man with head trauma and fractures, plus a 45-year-old man with spinal injuries and fractures.
The second medevac flight carried a 40-year-old woman with fractures and dislocation, a 35-year-old man with head trauma and serious injuries and a 42-year-old man with head trauma and fractures.
Colonel Alseni Camara, prefect of the town of Nzerekore, a southeastern region 1000 km from Conakry, expressed gratitude for the involvement of MAF.
We would really like to thank the support which frankly relieved us today, given the seriousness of the accident we had difficulties with our patients,” he said.
“We have seen that the government's effort has borne fruit and MAF has also borne fruit, not only in helping these patients. Congratulations to MAF. We always stand by them, and we are ready to support them.” he said.
Among those who died were two children and five women, according to health authorities.
The patients, who were conscious during the journey on MAF’s Cessna Caravan N2114G, were taken by ambulance from the airport to various hospitals in the capital. All those patients have since been described as being in a stable condition.
Conte Fodé Badra, deputy national director of public and private hospital establishments, welcomed the rapid reaction.
“We reached out… to all these companies that have companies that have helicopters and that have planes. Praise God! We were satisfied with their prompt response,” he said.
“An accident of such scale that the patients are transported by plane and helicopter from the scene of the accident, therefore from Macenta or Nzerekore to Conakry, this is a first.” he said.
“The government is satisfied. The Ministry of Health is satisfied. The Guinean population is satisfied, very satisfied with their prompt response to help the injured.”
Pilot Brad Ballin was glad that MAF could respond to the government’s request and play an important role in helping the survivors.
“Without the help of MAF, the more seriously injured casualties of the bus accident would likely have had to endure many hours of rough road travel (20+ hours from Nzerekore to Conakry) to access the necessary medical assistance that was only able to be provided in Conakry,” he said.
“It is highly likely that such a road trip, apart from subjecting the injured to unnecessary further pain and suffering would have had a negative impact on the outcomes of their continuing recovery.
“It is a testament to the entire MAF Guinea team that we were able to complete the two medevac flights and demonstrate Christ’s love to those in need safely and successfully.”
