Coast Guard rescues injured man from Carnival cruise ship

Herman Steidel Lebron, 88, medically evacuated from Carnival Victory

MIAMI – An 88-year-old man was medically evacuated from a Carnival cruise ship after suffering internal injuries while out at sea.

The Coast Guard on Sunday picked up Herman Steidel Lebron from the Carnival Victory, which was sailing northwest of Cuba.

"First, it lowered a -- I guess a medic from the Coast Guard onto the deck, then it lowered a stretcher, then it lowered a basket," said Karl Poehl. "The basket went up, took one person with him, then the stretcher went up with the patient in the stretcher."

Lebron is from Puerto Rico. It was not immediately clear what caused his injuries.

Lebron was listed in stable condition at Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West on Monday when the the Carnival Victory docked at PortMiami.

"Your heart does race just a little bit when you see something like that happening because you feel for the people," said Jack Sawdy. "They were very fast, very efficient."

Passengers said there were two medical evacuations during the four-day long cruise. The first person was said to be treated for a heart attack, though those Local 10 spoke to didn't see a helicopter arrive and the Coast Guard had no record of a medical evacuation.

The evacuation didn't affect the course of the trip or delay the scheduled stops.