Toddler Airlifted From Cruise Ship Off SoCal Coast

SAN DIEGO, CA — The Coast Guard worked fast last week to safely evacuate a 3-year-old girl from a cruise ship sailing about 90 miles off the Santa Barbara coast. In a news release, the Coast Guard said watchstanders with Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach fielded a call from the Emerald Princess last Wednesday afternoon after a toddler suffered from an apparent seizure while on board.

The Coast Guard coordinated with its San Diego and District 11 colleagues to launch a helicopter aircrew to get the girl off the ship and to a hospital.

Video released Friday showed the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter hovering above the ship's deck, allowing a rescuer to drop onto the vessel and locate the girl and her mother. The team secured the young girl, her mother and a teddy bear and hoisted them to the helicopter, flying the trio to the Harbor UCLA Medical Center for evaluation. Officials said the girl was in stable condition.