Emergency rescues - on floats

With a third of Bangladesh under water, MAF's floatplane is the ideal tool for quickly responding to an emergency situation.

Medical emergency flights are a key area of work in Bangladesh. The barriers posed by its massive delta-network of rivers, small islands, moonsoon rains and a flagging infrastructure can be overcome by our amphibious Cessna Caravan aircraft. When a patient needs urgent medical attention, a flight can save many hours of travel, often meaning the difference between life and death.

Based in Bangladesh, pilot Emil Kündig shares his stories about two recent live-saving flights.

A young passenger

Emil reports: 'We received a phone call late in the afternoon from Dr Titu Chandra Shill in Chittagong. His two-month-old baby, Pranjal, was suffering from a Septicemia infection. Since the aircraft was back in Dhaka from an earlier flight, we were ready for take off to Chittagong within one hour. We were able to bring the baby to Dhaka within 50 minutes. The MAF ambulance drove the family to the hospital where the baby was admitted. After 15 days' treatment he fully recovered and is well now. The father gave thanks to MAF for saving his baby’s life.'

Pregnancy complications

"The father thanked MAF for saving his baby’s life."

'Late another afternoon we received a phone call from Rajshahi to bring one pregnant woman to Dhaka with pregnancy complications and high blood pressure. The Rajshahi Hospital doctor already advised them to fly to Dhaka for better treatment; the patient was not able to be moved by road. As it was late afternoon and Dhaka International airport closed for one hour, the flight arrived in Dhaka after nightfall. Upon arrival the patient was quickly admitted in a hospital and after surgery she gave birth to a new baby. Now both of them are fine and thankful to MAF for their support.'