Danish military evacuates US submariner who needed urgent medical care off Greenland

Denmark’s military said its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.

The Danish Joint Arctic Command, on its Facebook page, said the crew member was evacuated on Saturday, some 7 nautical miles, or about 8 miles, off Nuuk — the capital of the vast, ice-covered territory — and transferred to a hospital in the city.

The crew member was retrieved by a Danish Seahawk helicopter that had been deployed on an inspection ship.

Also late Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy a hospital ship to the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland , alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care — prompting a defense of Denmark’s health care system from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

“Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there. It’s on the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to his special envoy for Greenland.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, speaking to public broadcaster DR, said Danish authorities had not been informed that the ship was on its way.

The historically strong bilateral ties after World War II between NATO allies Denmark and the United States have come under severe strain in recent months as Trump ratcheted up talk of a possible U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich and strategically located Arctic island.

Frederiksen defended Denmark’s health care system on Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment.”

“You have the same approach in Greenland,” she said, before adding: “Happy Sunday to you all” in front of a blushing, smiling emoji.

Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic politicians in the Danish parliament, wrote on Facebook: “Donald Trump wants to send a poorly maintained hospital ship to Greenland. It seems rather desperate and does not contribute to the permanent and sustainable strengthening of the healthcare system that we need.”

“Another day. Another crazy news story,” she wrote in front of a smiley face emoji.

丹麦军方表示，其北极司令部部队已从格陵兰岛海岸附近撤离了一艘美国潜艇上的一名船员，以便进行紧急医疗救治。

丹麦联合北极司令部在其 Facebook 页面上表示，这名船员于周六在距离努克（这片广袤冰封领土的首府）约 7 海里（约 8 英里）处被疏散，并被送往该市的一家医院。

这名船员是由一架部署在检查船上的丹麦海鹰直升机救起的。

同样在周六晚些时候，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普宣布计划向丹麦自治领地格陵兰岛派遣一艘医院船，声称那里许多人患病却得不到治疗——这促使丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森为丹麦的医疗保健系统辩护。

“我们将与路易斯安那州杰出的州长杰夫·兰德里合作，向格陵兰岛派遣一艘大型医疗船，照顾那里众多患病却得不到妥善治疗的人们。它正在前往格陵兰岛的路上！！！”特朗普在他的“真相社交”平台上写道，这里指的是他派往格陵兰岛的特使。

丹麦国防部长特罗尔斯·伦德·波尔森在接受公共广播公司DR采访时表示，丹麦当局事先并不知道这艘船正在驶来。

二战后，北约盟国丹麦和美国之间有着历史上牢固的双边关系，但近几个月来，随着特朗普不断加大力度谈论美国可能接管这个矿产资源丰富、战略位置重要的北极岛屿，两国关系受到了严重考验。

弗雷德里克森周日在脸书上为丹麦的医疗保健系统辩护，她写道：“我很高兴生活在一个所有人都能免费平等地获得医疗保健的国家。在这里，保险和财富不会决定你是否能得到适当的治疗。”

“你们在格陵兰岛也是这么做的，”她说，然后在后面加了一个脸红微笑的表情符号，并补充道：“祝大家周日快乐”。

丹麦议会中两位格陵兰籍政治家之一的阿雅·切姆尼茨在脸书上写道：“唐纳德·特朗普想派一艘维护不善的医疗船去格陵兰。这似乎有些孤注一掷，无助于我们所需的医疗体系的永久性和可持续发展。”

“又一天，又一条离奇的新闻，”她在笑脸表情符号前写道。