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Coast Guard rescues injured man from freighter off the coast of NC

Posted at 3:33 PM, Feb 20, 2015
and last updated 2015-02-20 15:33:22-05

Portsmouth, Va. – The Coast Guard rescued an injured crewman from a vessel approximately 170 east of Oregon Inlet on Thursday night.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth received a report from the 1,052-foot, German freighter Dalian Express around 4:00 p.m.

The report stated that a 62-year-old man had suffered an eye injury while changing a valve in the engine room.

To enable a medevac, the crew of Dalian Express, en route to Italy from Norfolk, changed course toward North Carolina to meet with a Coast Guard helicopter crew.

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and C-130 Hercules aircraft crew launched Friday from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, at approximately 5:45 a.m. The crews flew through intermittent snow and icing conditions before arriving at the Dalian Express at about 6:45 a.m.

The helicopter crew hoisted the injured man and transported him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, arriving at about 9 a.m. Friday, where the man remains stable.