The UAE’s National Search and Rescue Centre has airlifted an elderly passenger from a cruise ship in Dubai after he fell ill.

The man, who is in his 70s, was evacuated from Costa Firenze near Zirku Island, according to the Khaleej Times.

The NSRC was notified of the man’s condition by the ship’s captain and dispatched an aircraft to the area.

The passenger was transferred from the ship to Al Ruwais Hospital in Abu Dhabi. His condition and the nature of his illness was not specified.

Although Dubai has become a global cruise tourism destination, visited by almost a million passengers pre-COVID, medical emergencies at sea are rare.

In March, 2019, a German tourist that flew to Dubai for an MSC Cruise suffered a medical emergency during her hotel stay and was saved by Dubai doctors after she slipped into a coma.

In November last year, TUI Cruises’ ship Mein Schiff 6 was alongside in Dubai when a member of her crew suffered a medical emergency and had to be rushed to hospital.

Costa Firenze, designed to the Vista-class design of Costa’s parent company Carnival Corporation, is 135,000-gross tons and carriers more than 3,500 passengers.

The ship is a floating city, with 13 restaurants, 7 bars, thousands of cabins designed to reflect the decor of Renaissance Italy and a whole host of amenities and attractions, from a full-scale waterpark on the top deck, to a double-storey Broadway-style theatre, spa, casino and more.

Until March this year she is cruising roundtrip from Dubai, visiting Abu Dhabi, Doha in Qatar, Muscat in Oman and Bahrain.