Coast Guard Aids Cruise Ship Passengers Near Atlantic City

The Coast Guard came to the aid of two elderly cruise ship passengers who needed emergency medical assistance while the vessel was off the southern New Jersey coast.

Two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City were dispatched late Tuesday night to the 952-foot cruise ship Carnival Splendor, which was about 80 miles southeast of Atlantic City.

The crews then flew back with a 73-year-old woman who had heart problems and an 81-year-old woman who had suffered a head injury aboard the ship.

Officials said both women remained hospitalized Wednesday in critical condition, but further details were not disclosed.

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