Video: Bulker Crewmember Medevaced Off San Diego

MarineLink November 5, 2020

A crew member was medevaced from the bulk carrier Jal Kamadhenu roughly 250 miles off the U.S. West Coast (Image: U.S. Coast Guard)

An ailing mariner was medevaced Thursday from a bulk carrier more than 250 miles west of San Diego, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

On Wednesday night, watchstanders at 11th Coast Guard District command center received a request for assistance from the Panamanian-flagged bulker Jal Kamadhenu, which reported a 55-year-old crewman on board was displaying symptoms of a possible heart attack or stroke.

A Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched on Thursday morning with a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team paramedic on board to assist.

Once on scene, the helicopter crew lowered a rescue swimmer onto the deck of the 748-foot ship to assess the ailing crewman before lowering a stretcher to hoist the patient into the helicopter.

The patient was flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in stable condition, the Coast Guard said.

The Jal Kamadhenu departed Vancouver, Canada on Saturday and is sailing toward the Panama Canal, according to AIS ship tracking data.