Coast Guard evacuates Allure of the Seas crew member near Puerto Rico
A helicopter transported the 32-year-old crew member to shore after the ship requested urgent medical assistance.
The U.S. Coast Guard medically evacuated a 32-year-old crew member from Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on September 24, according to a Coast Guard news release.
The agency said it received an urgent evacuation request from the cruise ship at about 8 p.m. The unidentified crew member was reportedly experiencing severe, chronic abdominal pain that could not be treated in the ship’s medical center.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew departed from Air Station Borinquen in northwestern Puerto Rico as Allure of the Seas altered course and sailed south to meet the aircraft. The ship and helicopter rendezvoused about 50 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Rico, where the patient was hoisted from the vessel.
The helicopter carried the crew member to Air Station Borinquen. He was then taken by ambulance to Hospital Buen Samaritano in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. No update on his condition had been released after the transfer. Royal Caribbean had not publicly commented on the incident.