NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus authorities say a police helicopter has airlifted a man that a U.S.-flagged merchant ship plucked from stormy seas off the east Mediterranean island's southeastern tip.

Cyprus' Joint Rescue Coordination Center said the vessel, Safmarine Nimba, had notified Cypriot authorities Thursday that it had found the man adrift and picked him up about 17 miles (27 kilometers) northeast of Cape Greco.

Cypriot police dispatched a helicopter which then airlifted the unidentified man to a hospital in the coastal town of Larnaca.

It's unclear how the man ended up in the water so far away from Cyprus' coastline.