NORFOLK, Va. - The Coast Guard medevaced an 87-year-old woman from a cruise ship 180 miles off the Norfolk coast on Monday night.
Watchstanders at the 5th Coast Guard District Command Center in Portsmouth were notified around 12:30 p.m. Monday that the woman had fallen and injured her hip on board the 749-foot Viking Sky.
At the time, the ship was approximately 250 miles northeast of Norfolk. Coast Guard watchstanders directed the crew to move the ship closer to shore.
A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City to rendezvous with the cruise ship.
The helicopter crew lifted the woman and her husband from the ship and transported them to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
“Medevacs like this require teamwork and strong communication between the Command Center, the air crews and cruise ship personnel, which is what helped us carry out this mission,” said Coast Guard Lt. Mitch Latta, command duty officer for the case. “Our thoughts are with the patient, and we wish her a full, speedy recovery.”
