An 8-year old boy is in critical condition after nearly drowned in a pool on Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The accident happened on Thursday evening at eight to 10 miles off the coast of Breezy Point, Queens, according to officials. Crew members were alerted on Thursday evening that a boy needed medical attention after he was found unconscious at the bottom of one of the ship’s swimming pools. Coast Guard Senior Chief Steven Allard said that he boy remained in the water without oxygen for almost 18 minutes before being discovered by ship officials.

The cruise ship Anthem of the Seas, which regularly travels from New Jersey to the Caribbean, had just left its port in Bayonne only an hour before the Coast Guard was called to the emergency at 6 p.m.

The boy is now fighting for his life after being taken by police helicopter to an ambulance and transported to an area hospital in Staten Island. According to the FDNY, either a doctor or a nurse had performed CPR on the boy for a few minutes aboard the ship and managed to establish a pulse. According to a hospital spokesman, the boy was in critical condition late Thursday.

Royal Caribbean said in an official statement confirmed that an 8-year-old “was treated by the ship’s medical team after an accident happened in one of the ship’s swimming pools. Officials said that the ship had to sail back to Bayonne because the boy needed additional medical attention. The ship turned around and was met by a helicopter and boats from the NYPD and FDNY.

Anthem of the Seas docked back into Bayonne at 12.30 a.m. and passengers were told the ship would depart at 2:15 a.m. Friday to head back towards its original destinations. The nine-day journey includes stops in Bermuda, St. Martin, Puerto Rico and Haiti.