Danish military evacuates US submariner who needed urgent medical care off Greenland : NPR
Northern Lights above the Church of Our Savior in Nuuk, Greenland on Saturday, February 21, 2026.
Bo Amstrup/AP
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Bo Amstrup/AP
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The Danish military said its Arctic command forces evacuated a crew member from 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 about 7 nautical miles (13 kilometers) off the coast of Nuuk – the capital of the vast ice-covered territory – and transferred to a hospital in the city. The crew member was picked up by a Danish Seahawk helicopter which had been deployed to an inspection vessel.
Also on Saturday evening, US President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy a hospital ship to the Danish self-governing territory of Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care – prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to defend the Danish healthcare system.
“Together with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we will send a large hospital ship to Greenland to treat the many sick and untreated people there. It’s on the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to his special envoy for Greenland.
NATO allies Denmark’s historically strong bilateral relationship with the United States after World War II has come under strain in recent months as Trump has stepped up talk of a possible U.S. takeover of the strategically located, mineral-rich Arctic island.
Frederiksen defended the Danish healthcare system on Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where access to healthcare is free and equal for everyone. Where it is not insurance and wealth that determine whether you get appropriate treatment.”
“You have the same approach in Greenland,” she said, before adding: “Happy Sunday to all of you” in front of a blushing and smiling emoji.
