OCEAN CITY — A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter airlifted a 14-year-old boy who had fallen ill from a cruise ship off the coast of Ocean City on Tuesday morning.
Coast Guard Watchstanders in the 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth were notified on Tuesday morning by the captain of the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway that a young man was experience appendicitis-like symptoms on board about 300 miles east of Ocean City.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130J crew flew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City in North Carolina and arrived on the scene a short time later.
The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the unidentified 14-year-old teen from the cruise ship and transported him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk. The victim’s grandmother was also hoisted from the cruise ship 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 5th District Command Center duty officer Lieutenant J.G. Dan Dunn. “Their willingness to alter their course inland ensured that the aircraft transported this young man to the appropriate medical facility in a timely manner, thus saving his life.”
To view rescue, https://www.dvidshub.net/video/534698/coast-guard-medevacs-teen-off-ocean-city-md
