PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a cruise ship off the North Carolina coast Friday.
Watchstanders in the 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth received notification from the 1068-foot cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway at about 4:25 p.m. that a 60-year-old male passenger was reportedly experiencing kidney failure.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and C-130 Super Hercules aircraft crew launched from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and arrived on scene with Norwegian Breakaway approximately 120 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina.
The helicopter crew hoisted the man to the helicopter and transported him to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington for treatment.
“The crews from Air Station Elizabeth City as well as the 5th District Command Center team seamlessly worked together to carry out a successful offshore hoist,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas Barbay, operations unit controller for the case. “It was our priority to deliver the man to medical care as quickly and safely as possible.”