Coast Guard rescues toddler from cruise ship off Santa Barbara
The U.S. Coast Guard last week airlifted a 3-year-old girl from a moving cruise ship about 90 miles off the Santa Barbara coast after she suffered a medical emergency.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that the girl was rescued Wednesday afternoon after Princess Cruises’ Emerald Princess ship reported a young passenger experiencing “seizure-like symptoms.”
Body-camera footage from a Coast Guard aircrew member who was lowered onto the ship showed the helicopter hovering just above the swimming pool and artificial turf on the Emerald Princess’ top deck. The child was seated on a gurney outside of a spa, the footage shows. The ship’s medical staff stood nearby as the girl leaned against her mother.
The child was handed a teddy bear before being wheeled to the deck, placed in a metal basket and lifted alongside her mother into an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from San Diego.
The girl and her mother were transported to Harbor UCLA Medical Center. The child was in stable condition, according to the Coast Guard.
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