The Coast Guard reports that it medically evacuated a 56 year passenger from the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship sixty miles southeast of Jacksonville on Today.

Crew members on board the cruise ship notified the Coast Guard just after 8 AM that a male passenger was experiencing respiratory failure and needed medical attention.

Coast Guard Air Station Savannah launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter rescue crew to the scene.

The helicopter arrived at the location of the Fantasy around 10 AM.  The crew lifted the passenger from the deck, along with his wife and a cruise ship nurse, and transport them to a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.  The passenger is reportedly in stable condition.