A cruise ship passenger having a medical emergency had to be evacuated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in the early hours of Sept. 12, according to officials.
The passenger, who remains unidentified,
was onboard the Celebrity Solstice during a seven-night sailing around Alaska from Vancouver . During the medical evacuation, the ship was around 107 nautical miles northwest of Port Hardy, British Columbia.
“A guest experienced a medical emergency while sailing," Royal Caribbean Group, the company that operates Celebrity Cruises, told USA TODAY in a statement. "Since they required additional care, we facilitated their medical disembarkation."
According to a news release by the Canadian Armed Forces, RCAF's 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron conducted the search and rescue mission under the command of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria.
A helicopter and CC-295 Kingfisher airplane were deployed to respond to the medevac call. Two search and rescue technicians were lowered onto the cruise ship deck to load the passenger onto the helicopter along with a travel companion and medical personnel. They were then transported to the emergency health services and transferred to the hospital.
Although cruise ships have medical facilities similar to urgent care centers or emergency departments that can treat a range of afflictions, treatments and services can be limited. Some medical emergencies require outside or more intensive care, and medical evacuations can be conducted by helicopter or boat with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard or another country's equivalent, depending on the ship's location.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Passenger medically evacuated from cruise by Canadian Armed Forces
