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Press Release | April 30, 2023

PHOTOS AVAILABLE: Coast Guard medevacs ailing man from island south of Corpus Christi, Texas

Coast Guard PADET Texas - Office: (281) 464-4810 / After Hours: (832) 293-1293

Members of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi and good Samaritans carry an ailing man found in Bird Island Basin south of Corpus Christi, Texas, April 30, 2023. Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders received a call at 1:52 p.m. from a group of wade fishermen on Padre Island National Seashore stating they had encountered an unconscious 50-to-60-year-old man lying on the ground. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. j.g. Lester Fink) Emergency medical services personnel transfer an ailing man from an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter at Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, April 30, 2023. The helicopter crew medevaced the man, who had been found unconscious and lying on the ground in Bird Island Basin on the Padre Island National Seashore. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. j.g. Lester Fink)

Editor's Note: Click on images to download high-resolution version.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard medevaced an ailing man from an island south of Corpus Christi, Sunday.

Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders received a call at 1:52 p.m. from a group of wade fishermen on Padre Island National Seashore stating they had encountered an unconscious 50-to-60-year-old man lying on the ground in Bird Island Basin.

An airborne Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew diverted to respond.

The helicopter crew landed on the island, took aboard the ailing man, and flew him to Air Station Corpus Christi. Emergency medical services personnel assessed the man, who was in critical condition, and transported him to CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi - Shoreline. 

“We commend the fishermen for quickly alerting us to the situation and showing compassion for someone in need,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Derek Mazur, operations specialist, Sector Corpus Christi.

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