BBC cameraman airlifted from Titanic Memorial Cruise after falling ill

Tim Rex was airlifted to hospital from the MS Balmoral Titanic Memorial Cruise. Photo: PA

A BBC cameraman had to be airlifted from the Titanic Memorial Cruise after suffering a heart condition on board.

The MS Balmoral turned 20 nautical miles back towards Ireland to meet a coastguard helicopter that winched Tim Rex, 56, from the deck and flew him to hospital, according to The Sun.

A BBC spokesman told the paper: "A staff member was taken seriously ill while covering the cruise.

"Following advice from the ship's doctors he was taken ashore to receive urgent medical treatment."

The Titanic Memorial Cruise arrived in Cobh, Ireland, on Monday 9 April. Photo: PA

The cruise is tracing the route taken by the liner 100 years ago, and left Southampton on Sunday. It is scheduled to arrive in the North Atlantic at the precise spot of the tragedy this Saturday, the 100th anniversary of the Titanic hitting an iceberg on 14 April 1912.

After taking part in a memorial service, the 43,500-ton Fred Olsen ship will then continue on to Nova Scotia, where some of the 1,500 victims are buried.

The 12-night cruise will finish in New York, the destination where the original was headed, but tragically never reached.

The MS Balmoral is carrying 1, 309 passengers, the same number of paying guests as travelled on the Titatnic, and includes relatives of those who died, journalists, historians, and authors, according to the BBC.

A number of passengers and crew are dressed in period costumes, and passengers have been able to eat meals from Titanic's original menu.



Sign up to our weekly newsletterFollow us on TwitterBecome a fan on Facebook