The US Air Force has dramatically rescued a critically ill child and his panic-stricken mother from a cruise ship some 400 miles from the US mainland.
Angela Bridges was aboard the Carnival Venezia on its return from the Caribbean to New York with her family on 4 May, when her 12-year-old son, Aiden, suffered what is believed to be a perforation in his bowel.
The ship was 350 nautical miles (about 400 miles) off the coast of North Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean when the critical medical incident occurred.
A fleet of helicopters and planes, manned by a crew of combat rescue officers and pararescuemen, was deployed to the vessel “within hours” of receiving the rescue call, according to a statement from the USAF’s only reserve command, the 920th Rescue Wing.
Photos taken by passengers onboard the Venezia show Ms Bridges and her son being suspended in mid-air from a helicopter, after being hoisted from the ship’s deck.
9 май 2024
