VIDEO AVAILABLE: Coast Guard medevacs 45-year-old man from commercial vessel 179 miles off Charleston

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 7th District PA Detachment Jacksonville Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment Jacksonville Office: 904-714-7606/7607 After Hours: 786-393-4138 PA Detachment Jacksonville online newsroom

Coast Guard medevacs 45-year-old man from commercial vessel 179 miles east of Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C.. – The Coast Guard medevaced a 45-year-old man, Sunday, from the motor vessel Southern Shark approximately 179 miles east of Charleston.

A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew transferred the man to Augusta Burn Center Hospital at 3:03 p.m. for higher-level medical care.

At approximately 7:46 p.m., Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders were notified that a crew member aboard the Southern Shark obtained chemical burns during a tank cleaning. The watchstanders directed the launch of a helicopter crew to conduct the medevac.

"Due to the nature of this seafarer's injury and the specialized care requirements, this air-sea rescue operation involved complex planning and seamless execution," said Cmdr. William R. Cahill, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah Operations Officer. "The elite aircrew that successfully carried out this offshore medevac overcame challenging conditions conducting a very dynamic hoisting evolution in 10-foot seas and 35 miles per hour winds. Air Station Savannah thanks the crew of the Southern Shark for their excellent preparation and on-scene actions."

The on-scene weather was 10-foot high seas and winds of 35 mph.

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