Coast Guard medevacs man from Mexican fishing vessel South of South Padre Island

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fishing vessel approximately 40 miles south of South Padre Island, Tuesday.

An HH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter crew hoisted the injured man at 12:20 p.m. Crews coordinated with emergency medical services and personnel from Customs and Border Protection for the man to be flown to Brownsville Air Port and transported to a local hospital. The victim was transported via ambulance at 1:56 p.m.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi initially received a request for a medevac at 10 a.m., from the Mexican Rescue Command Center in Tampico, Mexico, stating that a man aboard the Gijon IX had reportedly suffered from a laceration on his head while working on deck.

“It was rough weather out there today, but we worked together with our partner agencies and were fortunate to be able to safely medevac this gentleman,” said Derek Mitchell, an HH-65C pilot at Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi.

The man’s condition is unknown.