Harrowing Video Shows Coast Guards Rescuing Sick Child From Cruise Ship

Dramatic footage released by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a medevac rescue crew descending upon a cruise ship to rescue a sick child .

At around 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning, watchstanders at a Coast Guard Sector in Humboldt Bay, CA, received word that an eight-year-old male passenger on a Royal Princess cruise vessel had been diagnosed with appendicitis and needed to be medivaced to a nearby hospital. Roughly an hour later, the men left Humboldt Bay in an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and made way for the ship, which was located about 20 miles off the coast of Eureka, CA.

The harrowing footage shows a rescue swimmer rappelling from the helicopter onto the deck of the cruise ship as towering waves crash around them. After the rescuer arrives on the deck, those in the helicopter send down a basket to transport the sick child. Moments later, the young man is brought onto the helicopter in the basket, followed shortly by his mother.

The young man was then transported to Eureka’s Saint Joseph Hospital, where he was transferred to emergency medical services at around 9:40 a.m. Neither the identity of the young patient nor those of his family members were publicly disclosed.

Though appendicitis is somewhat rare in those under 10, mostly affecting teenagers and people in their 20s, it is the most common type of emergency surgery performed on children. If left untreated, appendicitis could lead the appendix to burst or rupture, which could be fatal. Most of the time, children recover fully with no long-term side effects.