Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Saudi Border Guard patrol units in Madinah province evacuated an elderly German woman from an Italian ship in the Red Sea after she suffered internal bleeding and shortness of breath on board.

The incident happened on Tuesday within the Saudi territorial waters off Yanbu on the Italian-flagged AIDACARA, which was coming from Colombia, a spokesman for the Border Guard said in a statement.

The spokesman said the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Center of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba in Jeddah (JMRCC) received a distress call after the 66-year-old woman fell sick on board.

The JMRCC immediately identified the location of the ship, which was 74 nautical miles northwest of Yanbu Port. All measures were coordinated with the relevant authorities and the national plan for managing maritime disasters in the waters of Arabia was applied. An emergency doctor was linked up with officials on the ship by telephone to give the necessary medical advice until the evacuation plan was carried out.

Meanwhile, the search and rescue teams from the Border Guard Command in Madinah province and a tugboat carrying medical staff left Yanbu in the direction of the ship to manage the rescue.

The patient, accompanied by her husband, was evacuated to Yanbu Port and was provided with the necessary medical and humanitarian aid. An ambulance then transferred here to Yanbu General Hospital, where her condition was listed as stable.