Helicopter to the rescue

A Royal Navy helicopter from Cornwall flew 100 miles into the Atlantic in near-storm conditions to airlift a cruise ship passenger to hospital. The 83-year-old man was travelling on Marco Polo, which was crossing from Cobh in southern Ireland to France. He had suffered a suspected heart attack.
Lieut John Duke of RNAS Culdrose said: “It was very rough weather. You’re talking 30 to 40-foot waves and wind blowing against the ship, making it roll. It was a very deep swell with very choppy waters. It’s certainly an aggressive sea out there, bordering on storm conditions, but the crew conducted a textbook operation.”
Pilot Rob Spinks said the rescue was a tricky operation. “We picked up the casualty and his wife from the ship which was about 100 miles out – so it was quite a long transit which took us about an hour.”
The passenger was taken to the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro.