Background
A serious fire broke out on a deep-water offshore facility in Cabinda, Angola. Seventeen personnel were injured in the incident, including four people who sustained severe injuries and required specialist medical care. Emergency response procedures were immediately activated, triggering a large-scale mobilisation of medical resources and support services.
The Challenge
The response involved coordinating a wide range of stakeholders across multiple locations and time zones. This included offshore teams, local healthcare providers, specialist clinicians, air ambulance operators, international hospitals, medical escorts and operational leadership, whilst ensuring injured personnel received the appropriate level of care as quickly as possible.
The Approach
RMI was engaged to support the ongoing medical response and quickly established a dedicated crisis management structure to oversee patient care, medical logistics and transfer arrangements. Given the complexity of managing multiple casualties in a remote offshore environment, RMI deployed a senior Emergency Department Consultant to Angola within 48 hours of the initial notification. Bringing 24 years of military and emergency medicine experience, the consultant provided on-the-ground clinical leadership, supported local medical teams and helped coordinate the in-country response.
Specialist burns support
Several casualties suffered significant burn injuries requiring specialist treatment. To ensure treating clinicians had immediate access to expert guidance, RMI established a dedicated burns telemedicine service, connecting medical teams in Angola with consultants from a leading UK burns centre. This enabled real-time clinical support on patient stabilisation, burn management, transfer priorities and ongoing treatment planning throughout the response.
International evacuation and definitive care
As patient assessments progressed, RMI coordinated a series of international aeromedical evacuations from Angola to South Africa. Working closely with aviation providers, receiving hospitals, specialist clinicians and case managers, RMI secured access to specialist burns facilities capable of managing complex injuries and coordinated the safe transfer of multiple patients to definitive care.
Outcome
Following the offshore fire, RMI successfully coordinated specialist clinical support, international aeromedical evacuations and access to specialist burns treatment for several severely injured personnel. By combining experienced clinical leadership, telemedicine expertise, evacuation coordination and hospital placement services, RMI provided continuous medical oversight throughout a complex, fast-moving multinational emergency response.
