A Coast Guard air crew, working in the dark, evacuated a 32-year-old woman from a NOAA research vessel more than 40 miles northwest of Grays Harbor on Sunday evening after she reportedly suffered a seizure, Coast Guard officials in Astoria said.

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Coast Guard station in Astoria safely transferred the woman to waiting emergency medical service personnel, who then transported her to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria.

At 10:23 p.m., a watchstander at the Grays Harbor Coast Guard station in Westport was contacted by a crew member aboard the Bell M. Shimada who reported a woman aboard had sat down on the deck due to being dizzy, suffered a seizure and then temporarily lost consciousness, according to the release.

The ship is a 196-foot Oscar Dyson-class fisheries research vessel operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Newport.

The watchstander notified command center personnel at in Astoria, who, in a conference call with the duty flight surgeon and captain of the vessel, determined a helicopter hoist was best due to safety concerns and medical needs. A surface transfer would have required the woman to climb down a 6-foot ladder alone and, due to the potential seizure, she needed to be seen by a neurologist within six hours, the Coast Guard said.

Once on scene, the helicopter crew deployed their rescue swimmer, who secured the woman in a litter on deck before the air crew hoisted her from the vessel.