NEW ORLEANS — Coast Guard Station Gulfport responded to a 911 call on Sunday about a man requesting a medevac approximately seven miles off the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Cat Island.
The man had sustained an injury from a stingray near the island, which is one of seven barrier islands protected by the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
A boat crew immediately responded by launching a 27-foot utility boat to assist.
The man was transported back to the station for treatment.
He was last reported in stable condition.
According to the National Library of Medicine, there are more than 150 species of stingray all over the world, with a reported 750-3,000 stingray injuries annually in the U.S. Rarely are they fatal, however most notably, Australian television personality and animal activist Steve Irwin, best known as 'The Crocodile Hunter,' was killed after a stingray barb located at the tip of its tail pierced his chest in 2006.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
