Medical emergency prompts dramatic airlift from cruise ship
The P&O cruise ship had to skip a destination on its route after a passenger experienced a serious medical emergency onboard. Moments later, everyone watched as a helicopter approached the ship.
The Pacific Explorer P&O set sail from Auckland on October 1, stopping at Norfolk Island in Australia before visiting several islands in Vanuatu. On Tuesday, October 8, the ship anchored at Mystery Island, one of the southernmost islands of the archipelago.
Ship departs port due to ill passenger
Passengers were supposed to disembark at 5:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) and spend the day on the island before the ship returned to Auckland. One passenger told the Herald that 10 minutes before disembarkation, the captain announced that someone had experienced a serious medical emergency and could no longer leave the ship.
The crew sought a solution by involving the authorities of Vanuatu and New Caledonia to send a helicopter or plane to Mystery Island to transport the passenger to a hospital for proper treatment. This effort, however, was unsuccessful.
The ship had to leave Mystery Island to make a seven-hour journey to Mare in New Caledonia. The French army dispatched a military helicopter there to transport the passenger from the cruise ship to Nouméa for treatment.
Passenger airlifted by military aircraft
Passengers' recordings show the moment the sick passenger is taken by helicopter. "Hundreds of people stood up on the top deck to get a view, but frankly, everyone was just hoping the person would be okay," a passenger told the Herald.
"The timing was unlucky. If they had fallen unwell in Port Vila or Norfolk Island, it would have been an easy trip to seek medical treatment. They just happened to get sick at the one place furthest away from medical attention. I don’t know how common or rare this is, but it’s pretty wild to think someone had to be plucked from a moving ship in the middle of the ocean," the passenger reported.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises Australia described the rescue operation as follows: "Pacific Explorer cancelled a visit to Mystery Island yesterday (Tuesday) because a guest needed urgent medical attention. The guest was cared for by our onboard team until the medical evacuation could take place, off New Caledonia. We thank the authorities in New Caledonia for assisting us. We thank our guests for their understanding," the statement said.
