Watch: Cruise ship ‘full of Kiwis’ diverted as medical emergency leads to dramatic rescue

A P&O cruise ship “full of Kiwis” was forced to skip a visit to the final destination on its itinerary after a passenger suffered a serious medical emergency onboard, with passengers witnessing the patient being winched away by a military helicopter.
P&O’s Pacific Explorer departed from Auckland on October 1, stopping in Norfolk Island, Australia, before visiting several islands in Vanuatu.
On Tuesday, October 8, the ship was anchored at Mystery Island, one of the southernmost islands of the archipelago. Passengers were scheduled to disembark at 8:30am (local time) for a day on the island before the ship sailed back to Auckland.
A passenger told the Herald that 10 minutes before they were to go ashore, the captain said someone had suffered a serious medical emergency and they were no longer allowed off the ship.
Crew attempted to come up with a resolution involving authorities from Vanuatu and New Caledonia to send a helicopter or plane to Mystery Island to pick up the passenger and take them to a hospital for adequate medical treatment.
This was unsuccessful. The Explorer had to leave Mystery Island to travel seven hours to Mare, New Caledonia, where the French Army sent a military helicopter to take the passenger off the cruise ship and to Noumea for medical treatment.
Footage provided to the Herald captured the dramatic incident taking place, with the unwell passenger giving a wave to passengers as they were taken to safety.
“Hundreds of people stood up on the top deck to get a view, but frankly, everyone was just hoping the person would be okay,” a passenger told the Herald.
“They gave us a wave as they got winched up and everyone started clapping and cheering.”
The passenger said the cruise “is full of Kiwis” and there’s a “strong chance the unwell person is a Kiwi”.
They said it was unfortunate that passengers had to miss Mystery Island, but “you can’t help becoming seriously unwell”.
“The timing was unlucky. If they had fallen unwell in Port Vila or Norfolk Island, it would have been an easy trip to seek medical treatment. They just happened to get sick at the one place furthest away from medical attention.
“I don’t know how common or rare this is, but it’s pretty wild to think someone had to be plucked from a moving ship in the middle of the ocean.”
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises Australia released a statement this morning after the rescue.
“Pacific Explorer cancelled a visit to Mystery Island yesterday (Tuesday) because a guest needed urgent medical attention. The guest was cared for by our onboard team until the medical evacuation could take place, off New Caledonia.
“We thank the authorities in New Caledonia for assisting us. We thank our guests for their understanding.
“Pacific Explorer is currently on a 10-day cruise from Auckland and will return to Auckland as scheduled on Friday.”
The Pacific Explorer returned to Auckland in August 2022 after international borders reopened to tourists and has since operated many newsworthy cruises.
In September last year, the cruise ship intercepted a yacht in distress in the middle of the night, providing medical care to one of the people rescued from the deadly incident. Weeks later, it aided in an emergency rescue of an Australian ocean rower whose boat capsized in waters 10 hours north of Noumea.
The Herald reported in June that all sailings on the Pacific Explorer will be cancelled from March 2, 2025, as P&O Cruises Australia closes and operations are absorbed into its parent company, Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line. It is scheduled to sail from Auckland for the final time on October 30 and arrive in Melbourne five nights later.
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based digital producer and editorial assistant for the Herald who covers lifestyle, entertainment and travel.