The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(PORTSMOUTH, Va.) — The Coast Guard medevaced an injured crewman Friday from a motor vessel approximately 170 miles east of Oregon Inlet, N.C.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth, Va., received a report from the 1,052-foot, German-flagged freight ship Dalian Express on Thursday at about 4 p.m., stating a 62-year-old male crewmember suffered an eye injury while changing a valve in the engine room approximately 350 miles east of Oregon Inlet.
To enable a medevac, the crew of Dalian Express, en route to Italy from Norfolk, changed course toward North Carolina to meet with a Coast Guard helicopter crew.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and C-130 Hercules aircraft crew launched Friday from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., at approximately 5:45 a.m. The crews flew through intermittent snow and icing conditions before arriving at the Dalian Express at about 6:45 a.m.
The helicopter crew hoisted the injured man and transported him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, arriving at about 9 a.m.
The man is reported to be in stable condition.