Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach 45-foot Response Boat-Medium file photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Corinne Zilnicki
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. — The Coast Guard medically evacuated a man from a commercial dive boat approximately 46 miles east of Wrightsville Beach, Wednesday.
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center watchstanders received an alert via channel 16 that an individual was experiencing difficulty breathing after completing a 35 minute dive from the commercial dive boat Olympus.
The North Carolina Command Center consulted with a Coast Guard flight surgeon who recommended a medical evacuation.
A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach launched with emergency medical services aboard from the Wrightsville Beach Fire Department to medevac the diver.
Once on scene, the boatcrew successfully removed the diver from the vessel, returned him to shore, and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services and the Wrightsville Beach fire department at the station.
The patient was transported to New Hanover Medical Center for further care.
