Crewmember from Royal Canadian Navy Frigate Rescued By Coast Guard

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medevaced a 26-year-old crewmember Monday from a 440-foot Royal Canadian Navy frigate approximately 30 miles east of Wachapreague.

Personnel aboard the HMCS Halifax contacted Coast Guard 5th District Command Center watchstanders at approximately 3:40 p.m. Sunday requesting a medevac for a crewmember experiencing abdominal pain.

Since the crewmember's condition was not life threatening, the Coast Guard and the Halifax agreed to conduct the medevac the following morning.

"Working with our partner agencies and the Halifax, we were able to coordinate the frigate altering course toward shore to minimize the crew's flight time and risk involved during the medevac," said Thomas Botzenhart, a search and rescue coordinator in the 5th District Command Center.

District watchstanders dispatched a crew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., at approximately 9 a.m. to assist.

The Jayhawk crew arrived on scene, landed on the ship, transferred the crewmember and a nurse into the helicopter and took them to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk.