2025 Winner
NORMAN MACLEOD
Coastguard winch paramedic braved storms to drop solo onto a ship where two sailors had suffered horrifying injuries
Stornoway Coastguard received an urgent call to assist the Spanish super trawler Lodario in November 2023. Two crew members on board had suffered life-threatening injuries after getting entangled in the ship’s industrial-scale cable reels. One had severe leg wounds and the other was still trapped.
Arriving above the ship within an hour, the crew faced extreme weather conditions and rough seas. Winchman Norman ‘Nam’ MacLeod, along with his 30kg first response bag, was lowered from a 200 foot weighted line onto the deck.
The scene that awaited him was horrific. One man had already lost a leg, and the other had suffered catastrophic injuries to both of his.
Norman, 55, said: ”I’ve been a paramedic for almost 30 years, and this was the most challenging scene I’ve ever dealt with.”
Hampered by the conditions and language barrier, Norman administered emergency treatment on board. He said: “The first guy’s leg was ripped out. I applied haemostatic gauze which has a property on it that encourages blood clotting. The second casualty needed special tourniquets to both legs to stop the bleeding”.
Norman spent an hour on the ship tending to the men before two stretchers were sent down from the helicopter to lift them to safety, with Norman accompanying each transfer.
During the flight to Western Isles Hospital, Norman and his fellow crew member John Carrigan had to carry out emergency treatment to keep the two men alive. The second man subsequently lost both his legs but Norman said: “They both survived which is the main thing.”
Winch operator John said: “In situations like that, you can only hope you’ve got someone experienced in your crew. Although traumatic, what Nam did that day was some feat of bravery, and we’re extremely proud to have him on our team.”