A cruise passenger was flown to Limassol for urgent treatment after experiencing heart attack symptoms while onboard, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) announced on Friday.

The cruise-liner was located off the coast of Cyprus at the time the JRCC received the call.

According to JRCC, on Thursday evening it received information from the Bahamas-flagged cruise ship Ambience that as it was sailing 69 nautical miles off Cyprus, an 82-year-old man presented cardiac arrest symptoms and needed immediate medical assistance.

The JRCC immediately mobilised and after medical consultation from a Nicosia hospital doctor, a helicopter of the national guard with a specially trained nurse of the ambulance unit picked up the patient, who was transferred to Limassol general hospital for further treatment.