NYPD Special Ops Team Rescues Elderly Passenger Aboard Cruise Ship Near Staten Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An elderly man was airlifted to the hospital Friday as part of a daring rescue aboard a cruise ship near Staten Island.
An NYPD aviation unit was dispatched just before 6 p.m. after reports of a passenger who suffered a heart attack while aboard a ship in the Ambrose Channel.
After discussing the matter with the ship's captain, it was determined the 88-year-old man was in urgent need of medical attention and required immediate transportation to a hospital.
The Anthem of the Seas then changed its course and headed to Coney Island, where the a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) helicopter with four team members aboard lowered an Emergency Services medic onto the vessel.
Units secured the ill passenger and lifted him into the chopper before rushing him to Staten Island Medical Center, where he remains in serious condition.
