Celebrity Summit Crew Members Medevaced with Chemical Burns Off Virginia Beach

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced two crew members suffering from chemical burns on board a Celebrity cruise ship off of Virginia Beach on Wednesday.

The cruise ship Celebrity Summit contacted the Coast Guard Fifth District Command Center to get assistance for the crew members as the ship was located approximately 69 miles from shore. The two crew members were reportedly suffering from chemical burns and were in need of further medical care.

A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the two crew members as well as the physician from the Celebrity Summit and transported them to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The Coast Guard had no further details about where the crew members worked on the ship.

“The Coast Guard trains daily for situations like this,” said Mr. Ryan Langley, a Fifth District Coast Guard Command Center operations watchstander. “Being that there are so many hazards on the water, we remain always ready so that we can respond effectively to answer the public’s call.”

Celebrity Summit was sailing from Charleston, South Carolina to Bayonne, New Jersey on a 10-day round-trip voyage to Bermuda, Newport and Charleston, according to CruiseMapper.com.