Helicopter Evacuates Patient From Cargo Ship Near Bay Bridge

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A Maryland State Police helicopter flew a man who was seriously ill from a cargo ship in the Chesapeake Bay to the Annapolis Coast Guard station for transport to a medical facility. About 12:45 p.m. Friday, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department asked for a helicopter to help its crew extract a medical patient from the cargo ship Capri. Coast Guard rescue boats were alongside the ship, but were unable to safely transfer the patient into a rescue boats

A helicopter stationed at Saint Mary’s County Airport was sent to the cargo vessel anchored in the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Bay Bridge. Anne Arundel County Fire team members on board the Capri communicated their concerns to the helicopter crew and it was determined an aerial hoist would be the best way to move the patient to reach medical care.

The helicopter hovered over the Capri, lowered the rescue basket onto the ship, the patient was secured in the basket and then hoisted up to the aircraft. The entire rescue took about ten minutes, police said. Due to the severe nature of the patient’s illness, a remote landing zone was set up at the United States Coast Guard Station Annapolis, where the helicopter landed and the patient was transferred to ground EMS personnel.