Video Release: Coast Guard medevacs 87-year-old cruise ship passenger off VA coast

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 10/31/2017 01:05 PM EDT

united states coast guard 

Video Release  

Oct. 31, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: (757) 398-6272
After Hours: (757) 434-7712

Video Release:  Coast Guard medevacs 87-year-old cruise ship passenger off VA coast

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, hoists an 87-year-old woman and her husband from the cruise ship Viking Sky about 180 miles northeast of Norfolk, Virginia, Oct. 30, 2017. Cruise ship personnel called the Coast Guard for assistance after the passenger fell and injured her hip. (U.S. Coast Guard video by Air Station Elizabeth City/Released)

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

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medevaced a woman from a cruise ship 180 miles off Norfolk, Virginia, Monday evening.

Watchstanders in the 5th Coast Guard District Command Center in Portsmouth were notified at 12:30 p.m. that an 87-year-old female passenger had injured her hip aboard the 749-foot cruise ship Viking Sky and needed medical assistance 250 miles northeast of Norfolk.

Command Center watchstanders directed the crew of the Viking Sky to transit to a rendezvous point closer to shore.

Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews launched from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and arrived at the rendezvous point. 

The Jayhawk crew hoisted the woman and her husband and transported them to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

“Medevacs like this require teamwork and strong communication between the Command Center, the air crews and cruise ship personnel, which is what helped us carry out this mission,” said Coast Guard Lt. Mitch Latta, command duty officer for the case. “Our thoughts are with the patient, and we wish her a full, speedy recovery.”

 

 

-USCG-