JEDDAH — Saudi Border Guards evacuated an 85-year-old French woman who had one of her legs fractured on board a cruise ship on its way to the Jordanian port of Aqaba on Thursday. The ship was sailing from Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman. The Border Guard vessel "Al-Layth", affiliated to Prince Mohammed Bin Naif naval base in Jeddah, was deployed to evacuate the woman to hospital from the Italian-flagged Costa Luminosa. Border Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Misfer Bin Ghannam Al-Quraini said JMRCC received a call from King Abdulaziz International Airport Search and Rescue Center in Jeddah saying that it received an email message from the cruise ship requesting medical evacuation of an elderly female passenger who suffered a broken leg. "After applying the coordinates on the electronic map operator, it became clear that the ship was located northwest Al-Qahmah sector in Asir and sailing northward. The ship's captain was contacted and informed to go to a specific meeting point. Border Guard ship Al-Layth from Prince Mohammed Bin Naif maritime base was assigned to meet up with it and evacuate the injured passenger," Al-Quraini said. The Border Guard spokesman said necessary assistance was extended to the injured passenger. She was examined by the medical staff and evacuated to Prince Mohammed Bin Naif base. She was then transferred by Border Guard ambulance to Saudi German Hospital accompanied by a shipping agent. All the procedures for her treatment were quickly completed by the competent authorities so that the ship could continue its voyage. Only a couple of days previously, Saudi Border Guards rescued an American by evacuating him Prince Muhammad Bin Nasser Hospital in Jazan from the Seven Seas Navigator, a tourist boat carrying the Bahaman flag and was also on its way from Salalah, Oman, to the Jordanian port of Aqaba. The 77-year-old American began complaining about severe stomach pain and the Saudi Border Guard was alerted. The guards quickly evacuated the sick passenger along with his wife to the shore. He was rushed to Prince Muhammad Bin Nasser Hospital in Jazan, where he was diagnosed with abdominal bleeding and heart problems. The rescue missions came within the sphere of the Kingdom's role in implementing the International Agreement for Marine Search and Rescue (1979) and in continuation of the humanitarian tasks being provided by the Border Guard, mainly search and rescue operations, Al-Quraini said.
