WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Coast Guard and a local agency assisted an ailing man on a charter fishing vessel off the North Carolina coast Friday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a call via VHF marine radio at 12:23 p.m. stating a 59-year-old man was experiencing chest pains approximately 30 miles southeast of Oregon Inlet on the 55-foot charter fishing vessel Tuna Fever.
Sector North Carolina watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast at 12:33 p.m., then launched a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet carrying a Dare County EMS crew.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was launched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, at 12:35 p.m.
Both Coast Guard crews arrived on scene around 1:25 p.m.
The MLB crew transferred a Dare County EMS team to the Tuna Fever at 1:38 p.m.
The MLB and Jayhawk helicopter crews escorted the Tuna Fever back to Oregon Inlet, where a Dare MedFlight helicopter transported the ailing man to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, at around 2:15 p.m.
“Calling for help and treating this medical emergency seriously from the get-go allowed us to help the man quickly,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Colin Joyce, the coxswain of the MLB crew. “Quick notification allows the Coast Guard to work with partner EMS agencies and get people the help they need much faster.”
