A Coast Guard helicopter crew made a daring rescue on Tuesday when responding to a 14-year-old boy who became sick on a cruise 300 miles off the coast of Maryland.
The Maryland Coast Dispatch reported that the captain of the ship, the Norwegian Breakaway, radioed in that the teen was suffering from “appendicitis-like symptoms and required emergency assistance.
A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., raced to the ship in a MH-60 Jayhawk. The unidentified teen was taken to Sentra Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk. The teen’s grandmother was also hoisted up into the helicopter, the report said.
“The professionalism exhibited by the crew of the Norwegian Breakaway ensured that the Coast Guard was adequately informed of a life-threatening situation aboard,” Lt. J.G. Dan Dunn, the 5th District Command Center duty officer, told the paper. “Their willingness to alter their course inland ensured that the aircraft transported this young man to the appropriate medical facility in a timely manner, thus saving his life.”
The MH-60 helicopter is “an all-weather, medium-range helicopter” that is oftentimes used in search and rescue. There are 35 operational MH-60s in the Coast Guard. The helicopter can travel up to 180 knots, or about 200 mph. The helicopter can travel up to 700 nautical miles, or about 805 miles.
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