One of Russia's most senior admirals has taken the unusual step of writing personally to each member of a Royal Navy Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter crew to thank them for saving the life of a Russian sailor last October.

A Sea King from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire was scrambled when the Russian Defence Ministry reported that a sailor was stricken with appendicitis hundreds of miles out to sea in stormy conditions.

The Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Kinloss directed the Sea King, based at Prestwick, almost 200 miles out in strong headwinds to find the ship while an RAF Nimrod provided initial radio links.

Lt Neil Armstrong, the helicopter pilot, said of the rescue: "When we found her, the ship was suffering in high winds and turbulent sea, and we could see that extricating the stricken sailor was going to be difficult.

"The deck was covered in obstacles, and there were a large number of ship's aerials to be avoided."
An aircrewman was lowered with a stretcher to the deck, which was moving up to 30ft.

The patient and a translator were successfully recovered, though the latter was left dangling over the sea when a wave broke restraining ropes, and the two were delivered to a hospital in Northern Ireland, where the sick man was treated successfully.

Admiral Zakharenko, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation Navy, wrote to Lt Armstrong and his four aircrew expressing his thanks and those of the Russian Federation.

The admiral identified Lt Armstrong's leadership as key to overcoming the difficult weather condition and making a successful recovery of the sick man.

The British Embassy in Moscow, which passed on the distress message in the first instance, described the letters as "an unusual and unexpected gesture, indicative of the goodwill that has been created between our respective forces."