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WATCH: Why distressed pregnant woman on ship was not evacuated

Published:Wednesday | May 20, 2020 | 12:00 AM
An ambulance arriving at the Falmouth Pier on Tuesday for the ill workers as the ship moved into port - Ashley Anguin photo

Damion Mitchell/Integration Editor

Jamaican health authorities have sought to explain why the requested medical evacuation of a distressed pregnant woman aboard the Adventure of the Seas was not executed.

Sources close to the woman report that she has lost the child.

On Monday as the ship waited in Haitian waters for clearance to dock in Jamaica, the captain announced that there was a medical emergency and the ill crew member would be evacuated by helicopter.

The captain also told workers that he would be moving closer to Jamaica's maritime space to facilitate the helicopter.

That same evening, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that the Government had granted approval for the ship to dock in Falmouth the following day at noon.

However, the evacuation did not happen.

The woman was eventually removed from the ship via an ambulance after the vessel docked in Falmouth around noon on Tuesday.

She has since been admitted to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie said the condition of the woman allowed for her to dock.

WATCH HERE:

"A medical evacuation itself comes with risk," she said.

According to the CMO, one has to weigh the importance of the intervention that would warrant the evacuation.

"The condition was stable enough to allow for the ship to arrive and for the safe disembarkation of the person," said Bisasor-McKenzie. 

As the ship moved into port on Tuesday afternoon, the ambulance was seen arriving on the property to remove the ill ship worker.

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