Coast Guard medevacs fishing vessel crewman

The Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember Monday from a fishing vessel approximately 45 miles northeast of Oregon Inlet.

Crewmembers aboard the Ashley Nicole, a 42-foot fishing vessel, contacted Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet watchstanders at about 10 a.m., reporting that a crewman was showing signs of heart problems.

The Coast Guard dispatched a crew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet, and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.

The boat crew arrived on scene, transferred the man aboard and placed him into a stokes litter.

The helicopter crew then hoisted the man on board and flew him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The man’s name and his condition was not provided.

“This was one of the times that all our training comes together in one swift operation,” said Petty Officer 2nd class Louis Keating, the coxswain in charge of the motor life boat.

“It was a flawless transfer of the Ashley Nicole’s crewmember, who was in dire need of medical attention, to an asset that can quickly and safely take care of his needs,” Keating said.