ANDROS ISLAND, Bahamas - The Coast Guard medically evacuated an ill man from a container ship approximately 200 miles northeast of Nassau, Bahamas, Nov. 5.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 7th District Command Center received notification from the Panamanian-flagged motor vessel Jin Zhou Hai, of a 25 year-old male crew member suffering from internal bleeding, Nov. 5, at approximately 11:30 a.m.
In response, an MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter crew launched from Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island, Bahamas, and arrived on scene at appromiately 2:30 p.m.
After lowering a rescue swimmer and hoist litter to the deck of the ship, the Jayhawk crew safely hoisted motor vessel crew member Qin Qingbin, a Chinese national, to the helicopter.
Qingbin was transported to Nassau, Bahamas and transferred to awaiting EMS in stable condition.
"We were able to safely hoist the ill man despite heightened sea and wind conditions, and obstacles aboard the vessel," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Geskus, the crew's rescue swimmer. "Our lift elevation had to be approximatloy 90 feet because of cranes aboard the vessel, which when combined with the 30-knot winds and 10 to 15-foot seas, made for a challenging rescue."
Geskus and the Jayhawk helicopter crew are based at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, in Clearwater, Fla.