
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 file photo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— A Coast Guard crew medevaced a male with chest pains Sunday evening 60 miles offshore from Long Boat Key, Fla.
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center watchstanders were notified at 4:25 p.m., that an EPIRB had been activated and established communications.
Coast Guard watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew who hoisted the man experiencing heart attack symptoms from a 40-foot vessel and transported to Tampa General Hospital, where the man was transferred to medical personnel in a stable condition.
“Initially it was a search for the EPIRB signal, but then we found out there was a potential heart attack,” said Lt. Nathaniel Cajigas, Operations Duty Officer at Clearwater. “The first mate was able to take over the boat and return to homeport.”