NEW ORLEANS – A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew airlifted a passenger and a nurse from a Carnival cruise ship deep in the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon.

The helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans picked up a 54-year-old man suffering from heart problems, and a nurse from the deck of the cruise ship Celebration, 150 miles south of Louisiana.

The ship’s crew called the Coast Guard before 11 a.m., and turned the Mexico-bound cruise ship around to meet the helicopter.  It was almost 2:30 p.m. when the helicopter crew arrived on scene and hoisted the two people aboard.

The helicopter crew stopped for fuel at an oil rig before transporting the man, in stable condition, back to West Jefferson Hospital in Marrero, La., just after 5 p.m.

Video footage of the rescue is available at the guard shack at Naval Air Station New Orleans Belle Chasse, La.

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