The Otago regional rescue helicopter picked up a 78-year-old passenger from Celebrity Solstice at sea off the coast of New Zealand.
RCCNZ said it had been a challenging medical evacuation because the liner was 259 km west of Milford Sound (Fiordland NP).
On Friday night, February 9, Otago Helicopters had been sent to pick the man, who needed emergency surgery.
The helicopter made a 6-hour round trip, including a stop to refuel in Manapouri.
The cruise ship was initially 160 nm away when the call for assistance was made at about 1:00 p.m. and it was asked to head closer to mainland New Zealand.
For other Celebrity Solstice accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.