Comrades held the line until medevac helicopters arrived; streamlined UNC approval process established earlier this year proved decisive

The Medion dedicated medical evacuation helicopter [provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration]
The Medion dedicated medical evacuation helicopter [provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration]

When a suspected landmine exploded in the western front's demilitarized zone on Monday, South Korean forces secured UN Command approval to enter the DMZ in just over 10 minutes and hoisted all casualties to safety from a minefield where no helicopter could land, it has been confirmed. Military insiders say the speed of the UNC approval and the real-combat deployment of hoist equipment were both without precedent.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said Wednesday that "approval came quickly and the helicopter took off immediately," adding that securing UNC clearance to enter the DMZ is critical and that, by historical standards, "this was the fastest approval ever."

Under the armistice agreement, the UN commander holds authority over entry and jurisdiction in the zone south of the MDL, and helicopter access is no exception. Because advance notice and application are the rule, critics have long warned that emergency evacuations could be delayed when casualties occur. When a wildfire broke out in the DMZ near Goseong, Gangwon Province, in November 2018, it took two hours and 10 minutes to obtain approval to send in firefighting helicopters.

Once approval was granted this time, Medion dedicated medevac helicopters on standby in Pocheon, Yanggu and other locations lifted off in sequence. While the helicopters made their way to the scene, it was the soldiers who had been on the operation alongside the wounded who kept them alive.

"When injuries involve a severed ankle, stopping the bleeding and providing on-site first aid are critical," the JCS official said. "What the operations center worried about most was hemorrhage control. Once the casualties are on the helicopter, medical personnel take over, but until they arrive, it falls to the people on the ground." The official described the situation at the time as extremely tense.

He added that "contrary to our fears, the emergency response on the ground was carried out remarkably well," and that as a result the wounded were able to remain conscious and reach the Armed Forces Capital Hospital without their condition deteriorating further.

The other critical challenge was the hoist operation. There was no safe landing spot inside the mine-laden DMZ, so the medevac helicopters — equipped with hoists to lift patients in mountainous terrain or near rivers where landing is impossible — had to winch the casualties up from the air.

"It's not like in the movies, where the helicopter hovers for a moment and you're pulled straight up," the JCS official said. "You have to locate the casualties, find a viable lift point and complete the ground preparations — the helicopter had to circle multiple times to get the conditions right." He added that the crew "carried out a difficult mission in unfamiliar terrain" and that "it was the first time in my military career that I saw a patient evacuated and saved by hoist."

Multiple helicopters were deployed. "Evacuating several patients simultaneously with multiple helicopters is also a rare sight," the official said. "Normally you're lucky if one shows up at all, and even then there are questions about whether evacuation is feasible." The two seriously wounded soldiers were airlifted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, while the remaining casualty and other troops who took part in the operation were transported by ground and then evacuated by helicopter for thorough medical examinations.

Officials say a key factor behind the success of the evacuation was the military's decision earlier this year to streamline its emergency medevac approval procedures with UNC.

A military source said a female army major assigned to the Korea Armed Forces Medical Command's medical operations center had visited UNC to negotiate a rapid-approval procedure for emergencies, and that she was also deployed during this operation to handle the approval request and coordinate the evacuation.


rimsclub@heraldcorp.com