A 76-year-old man was rescued by a Portuguese Navy helicopter off the Azores, after suffering severe abdominal pain on the cruise ship where he traveled.
© Navy
24/10/2026
by
News to Minutes
U76-year-old man was rescued from a cruise ship off Terceira Island in the Azores this Saturday, after having felt “strong abdominal pains”.
The rescue, coordinated by the Portuguese Navy, through the Centro de Coordenação de Busca e Salvamento Marítimo de Ponta Delgada (MRCC Delgada), took place today, when the passenger ship was sailing about 400 nautical miles (about 741 kilometers) north of Terceira Island.
The warning was given at the end of yesterday's afternoon when the victim, an elderly American citizen, began to experience severe abdominal pain and needed medical assistance.
In a statement sent this afternoon to the essays, the Navy informs that the man was following the cruise ship “Rotterdam”, the Dutch flag, and after articulation with the Urgent Patient Guidance Center – Sea (CODU-Mar), his clinical situation was evaluated.
Then, it was determined that the man really needed medical rescue, so an EH-101 helicopter from the Portuguese Air Force Squad 752 was activated. The rescue was already carried out this morning and the patient was transported to Ponta Delgada, and was subsequently sent to a hospital unit through an ambulance from the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Department of the Azores (SRPCBA).
“ The MRCC was involved in this operation Delgada, the RCC Lajes, the Portuguese Air Force's 752 Squadron, the Port Captaincy of Ponta Delgada, the CODU-Mar and the SRPCBA ", concludes the Navy.