24-Year-Old Man With Severe Gunshot Injury Awaiting Urgent Medevac From Etep Health Centre | 2nd December 2025

A 24-year-old man from Tewai-Siassi District is in critical condition at Etep Health Centre after sustaining a gunshot wound that has caused severe internal bleeding and a life-threatening pneumothorax.

The medevac request was submitted by the Health Extension Officer ( HEO ) following the arrival of the patient, who was shot on the posterior back on Saturday, 28 November 2025. He reached the health centre the next day in a worse state.

Medical assessment revealed hemopneumothorax is a dangerous combination of blood and air trapped in the lung cavity. Health workers inserted an underwater seal drainage to relieve pressure, but the patient remains in a fragile condition. A repeat chest scan confirmed that the projectile is lodged inside the visceral cavity, basically means that the bullet or pellet from the gunshot did not exit the body instead, it travelled inward and is now stuck deep inside the chest, in the area where vital organs are located.

The case has been classified as a Surgical Emergency, requiring immediate evacuation to prevent further complications.

Weather conditions during the medevac remained favorable for air retrieval, with clear skies along the coast, though clouds are forming over the mountain ranges.

Pickup was set at Etep Health Centre once medevac arrangements are completed.

This case underscores the critical role of rapid aeromedical intervention in saving lives in remote districts where hospital access is severely limited.