CLEVELAND — The Coast Guard conducted two separate medical evacuations; a woman aboard a tour boat near Alexandria Bay, New York, and a man involved in a diving accident near Saugatuck, Michigan, Saturday.
At about 11:30 a.m., a boat crew, aboard a 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Holland, Michigan, and an air crew from Coast Guard Air Facility Muskegon, Michigan, responded to the scene of a diving accident 5 miles west of Saugatuck, Michigan, in Lake Michigan.
A diver had reportedly been conducting dive operation in 100 feet of water when something went wrong with his air regulator. He received assistance from his diving partner, but had stopped breathing by the time they surfaced. The dive team contacted the Coast Guard and began CPR.
The Coast Guard boat crew arrived on scene and quickly transferred the diver to waiting emergency medical services at the Saugatuck Yacht Marina. Upon being transferred to EMS the diver was going in and out of consciousness and had labored breathing. EMS took the man to Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His current condition is unknown.
At about 2:20 p.m., a boat crew, aboard a 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Alexandria Bay, New York, responded to a call for medical assistance for a woman suffering from a heat-related illness aboard a tour boat underway along the St. Lawrence River. The woman reportedly had lost consciousness and temporarily lost a pulse. An off-duty nurse aboard the tour boat assisted with medical care until the Coast Guard crew arrived and safely transported the woman to River Hospital in Alexandria Bay.
