Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: April. 29, 2008

Contact:  PA3 Tom Atkeson
(618) 225-9008

COAST GUARD MEDEVACS MAN FROM CRUISE SHIP

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard medevaced a 62-year-old man from the Carnival Cruise Ship Ecstasy  about 250 miles south of the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico, today.

At Approximately 10:30 a.m., watchstanders at the Eighth Coast Guard District Command Center received a call from an Ecstasy crewmember reporting that a 62-year old man needed medical attention.  An HH-60 Jay Hawk rescue helicopter with a flight surgeon aboard, and an HU-25 Falcon jet crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala. were launched to medevac the man. Due to the distance, the crew had to refuel the helicopter on an oil rig before arriving on scene.

The man was taken to West Jefferson Medical Center in Metairie, La., at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Media Note: No video of this rescue is available.

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U.S. Coast Guard - Saving lives since 1790