GULF OF MEXICO – The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 37-year-old man from the cruise ship Jewel of the Seas approximately 25-miles west of Sanibel Island, Sunday.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center received notification at 2:57 a.m., regarding a 37-year-old man onboard the Jewel of the Seas that was suffering heart attack symptoms and was in need of immediate medical evacuation (medevac).
A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and although it was determined that a medevac was recommended, it would be too risky to fly the patient in a helicopter.
At 3:30 a.m., a Coast Guard 41-foot utility boat crew from Station Fort Myers Beach, Fla., along with a local emergency medical technician (EMT) were launched to the scene.
Once on scene at 6:10 a.m., the EMT was able to safely transfer the man from the cruise ship onto the 41-foot utility boat.
The man was transported back to Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach where local EMS personnel were waiting to take him to Lee Memorial Hospital.
