Minister Orders Helicopter Evacuation of Elderly Flood Patient
The Natural Resources and Environment Minister has ordered a helicopter evacuation of an 81‑year‑old flood‑affected patient from Prachinburi to Chonburi Hospital. The man suffered acute kidney and heart‑respiratory failure and was flown with a Sky Doctor team, arriving at the hospital by midday. The mission highlights the ministry’s flood‑relief efforts using aerial transport to speed up emergency care.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwatcha Chomklin ordered the ministry to provide two helicopters for flood‑relief missions in the central and eastern regions starting September 27, 2026. For today’s mission, Inspector‑General Kanthaphan Phisalsuksakul directed ministry helicopter 5119 to work with the Chonburi Hospital Sky Doctor team to lift an 81‑year‑old Thai male patient from Chao Phraya Abhai Bhubej Hospital in Prachinburi and fly him to Chonburi Hospital. The patient showed lethargy, fatigue, cloudy urine, then fever and breathing difficulty; doctors diagnosed acute kidney failure together with heart and respiratory failure requiring urgent specialist care, so air transport was chosen to reduce travel time. At 09:30 the helicopter took off from the Khlong Luang operational centre in Pathumthani, collected the Sky Doctor team at the 1st Infantry Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment in Mueang Chachoengsao, Chachoengsao province, then proceeded to Camp Jakrapong Phuvanath in Prachinburi to pick up the patient. It landed at the 902nd Infantry Regiment, King’s Guard in Mueang Chonburi, Chonburi province at 11:30. An ambulance from Chonburi Hospital then transferred the patient to the hospital immediately. The operation demonstrates the combined effort of the ministry’s resources and aerial medical teams to reach people in crisis quickly.
