The ship retracing the voyage of the Titanic had to turn back unexpectedly for a brief time when one of the passengers suffered a heart attack!

The passenger, 56 year old Tim Rex, was taken off the ship by helicopter after falling seriously ill while covering the MS Balmoral's cruise for the BBC, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"Unfortunately a BBC staff member was taken seriously ill while covering the cruise to the site of the Titanic. Following advice from the ship's doctors he has been taken ashore to receive urgent medical treatment," a BBC spokesperson said.

The ship was already battling rough weather when this unfortunate incident happened. According to The Australian, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines confirmed the MS Balmoral had returned about 32km to bring it within flying distance of the Irish coast. It then resumed its trans-Atlantic journey, with AFP reporting it was still supposed to arrive at the Titanic sinking site in time for a weekend memorial service.

The ship, Balmoral, is carrying 1300 passengers. The cruise was ideally supposed to reach the site where the tragedy struck exactly at the same time but that may not be the case anymore. The cruise had started on Sunday, 8 April, from Southampton, where the relatives of the victims of the Titanic threw flowers and wished the ship on its way. A video of the original Titanic leaving the port was played before the Balmoral left the docks.

"I enjoyed the ceremony which was tasteful and moving. It was a worry during the anniversary that the families would be forgotten in all the razzmatazz like the cruise that left a few days ago, but this was lovely," Vanessa Beecham, who paid tribute to her uncle who died in the Titanic tragedy, told the Mirror.

The Mirror reports that each of the passengers had to pay around £6,000 for the cruise retracing the original Titanic's voyage and to finally see the site where the tragedy stuck. Many of them were dressed in appropriate costumes.

The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 in the frigid North Atlantic, killing more than 1500 passengers.

Doomed Voyage Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise Returns Due to Medical Emergency
Passengers and crew walk under posters of passengers from the Titanic as they make their way to the deck of the Azamara Journey cruise ship, in New York April 10, 2012. The Azamara Journey will sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a Titanic Memorial Cruise where passengers will visit a cemetery where victims of the sunken cruise liner are buried Reuters
Doomed Voyage Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise Returns Due to Medical Emergency
An Irish Coast Guard helicopter winches a man suffering from a heart ailment from the Titanic Memorial Cruise ship MS Balmoral, in the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland April 10, 2012. Tour operator Miles Morgan said the ship would head back 20 nautical miles towards Ireland in order to be in range for a helicopter tasked with evacuating a man with a non life threatening heart condition. Reuters
Doomed Voyage Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise Returns Due to Medical Emergency
Passengers on the Titanic Memorial Cruise dance to a Belgian string band after departure from Cobh April 9, 2012. The ship's authorities have decided to cancel scheduled ballroom dancing on April 10 due to rough seas. The cruise is retracing the voyage of the ill-fated Titanic liner, which hit an iceberg and sank 100 years ago on April 15, 1912. Reuters
Doomed Voyage Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise Returns Due to Medical Emergency
Carmel Bradbury and Andrew Storic of Adelaide and Helena Beaumont-Jones (L-R) of Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia pose after arriving on the Titanic Memorial Cruise for a stop in Cobh, Ireland April 9, 2012. The cruise is retracing the voyage of the ill-fated Titanic liner, which hit an iceberg and sank 100 years ago on April 15, 1912. Reuters
Doomed Voyage Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise Returns Due to Medical Emergency
An Irish Coast Guard helicopter winches a man suffering from a heart ailment from the Titanic Memorial Cruise ship MS Balmoral, in the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland April 10, 2012. Tour operator Miles Morgan said the ship would head back 20 nautical miles towards Ireland in order to be in range for a helicopter tasked with evacuating a man with a non life threatening heart condition. Reuters