Coast Guard medevacs teen 303 miles off Ocean City, MD

united states coast guard 

News Release  

June 27, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: (757) 398-6272
After Hours: (757) 434-7712

CORRECTION: Coast Guard medevacs teen 303 miles off Ocean City, MD

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevacs a teen off the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway off the Maryland coast Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. The teen had reported appendicitis-like symptoms and was accompanied by his grandmother to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. (Coast Guard video by Air Station Elizabeth City)

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

**CORRECTION: Distance off-shore has been corrected. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medevaced a 14-year-old from a cruise ship 303 miles east of Ocean City, Maryland, this morning.

 

Watchstanders in the 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth were notified by the captain of the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway that a young man was suffering appendicitis-like symptoms aboard.

 

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130J aircraft crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, launched and arrived on scene.

 

The helicopter crew hoisted the teen from the cruise ship and transported him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. The patient's grandmother was also hoisted to accompany him to the hospital.

 

"The professionalism exhibited by the crew of the Norwegian Breakaway ensured that the Coast Guard was adequately informed of a life threatening situation aboard,” said Lt. j.g. Dan Dunn, the command duty officer at the 5th District Command Center. “Their willingness to alter their course inland ensured that the aircrew transported this young man to the appropriate medical facility in a timely manner, thus saving his life."

 

-USCG-