Cruise Passenger Medically Evacuated

A passenger aboard the Charleston-based Carnival Fantasy was medically evacuated Tuesday as the passenger vessel steamed 60 miles off the coast of Jacksonville.

The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Savannah at 8 a.m. Tuesday dispatched a Dolphin helicopter to evacuate the unidentified 56-year-old man who was experiencing respiratory failure, according to a Coast Guard statement.

"Once on scene at approximately 10 a.m., the helicopter crew was able to safely hoist the man along with his wife and a ship's nurse," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Potter in a written statement.

Coast Guard crews were able to "transport them to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville where (the passenger) was transferred in stable condition," Potter said.

The Fantasy sails out of Charleston on five-day cruises to the Bahamas. It is due back for a turnaround on Saturday.