helicopter was dispatched to airlift a badly injured seaman from a supertanker off Bermuda.

The man, suffering head injuires, was landed at Police field and taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

Harbour Radio said the man had fallen down a ladder on board the King , carrying fuel oil from Venezuela to Boston. Due to the severity of his injuries it was decided to send a faster helicopter rather than a boat to rendezvous with the ship.

The helicopter reached the ship, some 100 miles west of Bermuda, at about 6 p.m. He was landed at 6.30 p.m.