(U.S. Coast Guard file photo)
The U.S. Coast Guard came to the rescue of a man who fell ill on a cruise ship off en route to New Jersey Friday afternoon.
Officials say Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas ship was about 150 miles off the coast of North Carolina when the captain requested a medical evacuation.
The man, whose name was not released, was suffering from appendicitis symptoms, according to a Coast Guard news release.
The Coast Guard dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina to complete the rescue mission.
The crew hoisted the man, accompanied by a nurse, onto the helicopter and transported him to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. Officials have not released his name or condition.
“The crew of the Anthem of the Seas had a textbook response to the situation,” said Chief Petty Officer Ryan Langley, command duty officer during the case. “They contacted us as soon as possible and diverted to facilitate a faster and more efficient rescue.”
The ship is scheduled to return Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne on Sunday.