Coast Guard Airlifts Cruise Passenger From Anthem of the Seas

The United States Coast Guard airlifted a 55-year-old Canadian man from a cruise ship Friday after he reported severe abdominal pain.

According to CBS17.com, Coast Guard officials at the 5th District command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received a call from the Anthem of the Seas cruise ship saying a man needed to be transferred to a local hospital.

The coast guard dispatched MH-60 Jayhawk and HC-130 Hercules aircrews from Air Station Elizabeth City to the Royal Caribbean International ship sailing around 100 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras.

The Jayhawk aircrew brought the sick passenger and his wife onto the helicopter and transported them to Carteret Health Care Medical Center in Morehead City, North Carolina.

“Conducting a medevac from a cruise ship can be difficult sometimes, especially in bad weather,” Petty Officer 2nd Class Alex Morris told CBS17.com. “Thanks to the constant training we conduct, we’ve remained capable and ready to respond to the calls of people in distress at sea.”