GULFPORT, Miss. – The Coast Guard medevaced a 75-year-old male, Sunday, from Ship Island, 11 miles off of Gulfport in the Gulf of Mexico.
Medevaced was Lenny Villbuena.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Gulfport received a call via VHF-FM radio from a National Park Service park ranger at approximately 11 a.m., that Villbuena had fallen down a flight of stairs and suffered back and neck injuries. Crewmembers from Station Gulfport, along with a Mississippi Marine Resources officer, a life guard and National Park Service park rangers, stabilized Villbuena on shore prior to medevacing him by helicopter.
An MH-65C Dolphin helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans arrived on scene at approximately noon and transported Villbuena safely to Gulfport Memorial Hospital.
His condition is unknown.
“The coordination of federal, state and local agencies worked together to deliver swift medical attention and helped save a man’s life,” said Cmdr. Eric King, chief of response for Coast Guard Sector Mobile, Ala.
