64-year-old woman medically evacuated from cruise ship off Puerto Rico coast

A passenger was medically evacuated from a cruise ship Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

According to officials, the passenger was a 64-year-old American woman who was experiencing an unspecified abdominal medical emergency.

The Celebrity Apex cruise ship had been about 140 nautical miles from Puerto Rico at the time of the incident.

The woman, along with her spouse and a cruise ship nurse, were transported off the ship by helicopter.

They were then flown to an airport in San Juan, from where emergency responders took them to a local hospital.

"Thanks to the outstanding coordination between Sector San Juan, the crew of the Celebrity Apex and our team at Air Station Borinquen, we were able to safely conduct the hoist and transport of three individuals from the cruise ship," aircraft commander Lt. William Boardman said in a statement. "The patient was successfully transferred to EMS and transported to a higher level of care, and I'm proud of the professionalism displayed throughout the mission."