Cruise Ship Passenger Medevaced off US

By Eric Haun July 7, 2015

A Coast Guard helicopter crew hoists a 77-year-old woman suffering stroke symptoms, Monday, July 6. The crew took the ailing passenger to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina. (Screenshot from U.S. Coast Guard video by Air Station Elizabeth City)

A cruise ship passenger suffering stroke symptoms was medevaced by U.S. Coast Guard personnel approximately 200 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina.

The Coast Guard received a call late Monday afternoon from the 959-foot, Panama-flagged cruise ship Carnival Pride, reporting a 77-year-old female passenger was in distress.

Coast Guard air crews arrived on scene and hoisted the ailing passenger along with a family member and a medical professional into a helicopter at about 7:30 p.m. A video of the medevac is available here.

The woman was brought to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina, arriving at about 9 p.m., and is reported to be in stable condition.

Assisting in the rescue was a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.