Woman taken from cruise ship off NC coast

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says a 59-year-old woman has been taken from a cruise ship off the North Carolina coast to a Virginia hospital.

A statement from the Coast Guard said a crewmember aboard the Norwegian Breakaway contacted the 5th District office to report a woman suffered a heart attack and was in need of assistance.

The cruise ship was directed to alter its course toward Elizabeth City, N.C. to get within range of a Coast Guard helicopter crew.

Personnel from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City dispatched crews aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft to assist Monday evening. The woman and a ship's nurse were hoisted into the helicopter and taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk. The woman's condition wasn't immediately available Tuesday.