PORTSMOUTH, Va. – With a fuel stop along the way at a guided missile destroyer, a Coast Guard helicopter crew medevaced a man from a motor vessel 430 miles southwest of Bermuda after he suffered injuries to his hand Tuesday.
The Coast Guard received a report of an injured crew member on the Antigua-flagged vessel CSCL Genoa, a 641-foot freight ship, at about 3:30 p.m. A flight surgeon determined the 32-year-old man’s injury warranted a medical evacuation, and a helicopter and C-130 airplane were launched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
The crew of the Norfolk, Va., based Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin assisted with the medevac by refueling the Coast Guard helicopter en route to the CSCL Genoa. The crew member was hoisted at about 7:40 p.m., and he was delivered to emergency medical personnel at Wilmington International Airport, N.C., at about 10:45 p.m.
The Coast Guard regularly partners with the Navy in medevacs and search and rescue missions.
