BBC man falls ill on Titanic cruise

12 April 2012 13:31

A helicopter was called upon to airlift the cameraman to dry land

A helicopter was called upon to airlift the cameraman to dry land

A BBC cameraman has been airlifted from a cruise ship retracing the path of the Titanic in the Atlantic after he fell ill on board.

The MS Balmoral had to make a short detour in order to allow the patient, confirmed as 56-year-old Tim Rex, to be taken back to land.

It had sailed from Southampton on Sunday to embark on a 12-night journey to honour the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, which sank after colliding with an iceberg on its maiden voyage to New York.

Some 1,309 passengers are on board the MS Balmoral - the same number who were aboard the "unsinkable ship" in 1912.

During the journey Mr Rex became "seriously ill" and after consulting a doctor, a helicopter was called in to airlift him off the ship.

The situation shows how important it is to have medical travel insurance for any trip. However, falling ill isn't the only unforeseen circumstance holidaymakers can encounter on board a ship, and they're advised to take out cruise travel insurance before departing.

In a message on Twitter BBC presenter Jon Kay said: "We can confirm that the man taken off the Titanic cruise-ship by rescue helicopter tonight is a 56-yr-old BBC cameraman. Precautionary."

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