ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WNCN) — A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from North Carolina airlifted a girl and her parent from a cruise ship in the Atlantic after the girl fell ill aboard during a trip to the Bahamas, officials said.
The 7-year-old girl was aboard the Cruise Ship Celebrity Summit. She was airlifted Monday to a hospital in Virginia “for higher level care,” according to a news release from the Coast Guard.
Cruise ship officials contacted the Coast Guard to request help for the girl “who was experiencing abdominal pain” on a trip from New Jersey to Bermuda, the news release said.
A U.S. Coast Guard flight surgeon determined that the girl needed medical evacuation. The command center dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City the ship, which was 200 miles offshore.
“The girl, a parent and ship’s nurse were transported to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia,” the news release said.