Cruise ship passenger airlifted after medical emergency off California, officials say

The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted a 63-year-old man to a hospital from a cruise ship off the coast of Southern California, officials say.

The man was aboard the Grand Princess off Los Angeles when he started feeling “severe abdominal pain,” the Coast Guard said in an Oct. 14 news release.

Coast Guard officials said they received a medevac request in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 12.

The Coast Guard continued to communicate with the cruise ship until it was in range of a Air Station Ventura helicopter crew, which hoisted the man from the ship at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the agency said.

The man was flown to a Torrance hospital, ending the first rescue for the recently created Coast Guard Air Station Ventura, officials said.

This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Cruise ship passenger airlifted after medical emergency off California, officials say."

Daniella Segura

McClatchy DC

Daniella Segura is a national real-time reporter with McClatchy. Previously, she’s worked as a multimedia journalist for weekly and daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area. Her work has been recognized by the California News Publishers Association. She is also an alumnus of the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley.