Photo Release: Coast Guard medevacs man from cruise ship near Virginia Beach, Va.

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 04/08/2017 10:16 AM EDT

united states coast guard 

Photo Release  

April 8, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: (757) 398-6272
After Hours: (757) 434-7712

Photo Release: Coast Guard medevacs man from cruise ship near Virginia Beach, Va.

A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia, approaches the cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, April 7, 2017. The Coast Guard had received notification from cruise ship personnel that a 60-year-old male passenger was suffering from respiratory arrest and needed emergency transportation to shore. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released)

Coast Guard personnel and crewmembers with the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas prepare to pass an ailing passenger to a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Little Creek east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, April 7, 2017. The Coast Guard had received a call from cruise ship personnel that a 60-year-old male passenger was suffering from respiratory arrest and needed emergency transportation to shore. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released) Coast Guard Petty Officers 3rd Class Manny Groll, Kyle Crabtree and Spencer Kelly, crewmembers at Coast Guard Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia, stand by to assist local EMS as they care for an ailing man aboard the station's 45-foot Response Boat-Medium at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, April 7, 2017. The man was suffering from respiratory arrest aboard the cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas when cruise ship personnel requested a Coast Guard medevac. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released)

Editors' Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a cruise ship near Virginia Beach, Virginia, Friday.

Watchstanders in the 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth received notification from the 915-foot Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas at about 4:10 p.m. that a 60-year-old male passenger was suffering from respiratory arrest.

The Grandeur of the Seas was 20 NM east of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, at the time of the call and continued traveling toward the Chesapeake Bay.

A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew launched from Station Little Creek,Virginia Beach, and arrived on scene east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel at 6:35 p.m. The passenger and the cruise ship’s medical officer were transferred to the RBM and brought to Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach. Local EMS transported the man to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital for treatment.

“This case illustrates how crucial it is for the Coast Guard to communicate and work closely with other entities in order to affect a timely rescue,” said Coast Guard Lt. Mitch Latta, command duty officer for the case. “Coast Guard crews, the flight surgeon, cruise ship personnel and local EMS all played important roles in getting this man the medical attention he needed.”

-USCG-