The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a man suffering symptoms of appendicitis Thursday off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads received a report from the Portugal-flagged container ship Maersk Kleven indicating a 29-year-old Romanian man aboard was experiencing abdominal pain approximately 20 nautical miles southeast of Cape Hatteras.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Elizabeth City. The helicopter crew met the 7,403 TEU vessel approximately 20 nautical miles east of Cape Hatteras and lowered a rescue swimmer.
The man was hoisted to the helicopter and flown to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Woodbridge, Virginia. He was reported in stable condition.
The 1996-built Maersk Kleven continued en route to the Port of Antwerp, Belgium.