A sea rescue operation took place off the California coast last Friday as the U.S. Coast Guard airlifted a 66-year-old woman from a cruise ship after she showed symptoms of a stroke. The call for an emergency medical evacuation (medevac) was placed early in the morning by the crew of the Koningsdam, a vessel under the Holland America Line.

Upon receiving the distress signal at 7:12 a.m., Coast Guard watchstanders based in San Diego sprang into action, launching an MH-60 Dolphin helicopter and a C-27 aircraft from Air Station Sacramento to the cruise ship's position, situated approximately 280 miles south of the maritime boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, the urgency of the situation necessitated swift coordination between the airborne crews and the ship's personnel to execute the medevac successfully.

The Air Station Sacramento crew was crucial for orchestrating communications. At the same time, their counterparts from Air Station San Diego performed the hoisting operations to retrieve the patient, according to a statement by the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilot, Lt. Brady Stepan. He remarked, "Rescues like this are exactly what our crews train for," acknowledging the seamless teamwork that brought the woman to safety.

Following the successful extraction, the elderly woman was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, where she was reported to be stable.