Cruise Ship Guest Survives 15 Hours At Sea After He Fell Overboard

A 28-year-old cruise ship guest managed to survive 15 hours at sea in the US after he fell overboard during the Thanksgiving weekend.

The unnamed victim was on Carnival Cruise Line’s Valor during a sailing in the Gulf of Mexico when the incident took place.

His sister reportedly raised the alarm when he was not returning to the bar after he went to the toilet on 23 November.

An end-to-end search of the ship reportedly commenced, with photographs of the person shown to passengers and the Valor’s pool drained.

Close to 2 pm on Thursday, the search was reportedly abandoned as it was evident that the man was no longer on the vessel.

The cruise liner that had been due for the sail to the island of Cozumel reportedly retraced steps, while the Coast Guard and ships in a 300km area were called to search for the missing individual.

In what Carnival refers to as a “Thanksgiving Miracle”, the passenger was spotted approximately 30km off the Southwest Pass coast, a channel that lies to the mouth of the Mississippi River toward southeast Louisiana.

A cargo carrier dubbed the CRISIS first identified the individual before alerting the Coast Guard, who used a helicopter and winched him out of the sea about 15 hours after he had first fallen in.

He could identify his name, and confirmed that he was the person who fell overboard, rescue coordinator for the US Coast Guard, Lt. Seth Gross, informed CNN.

He had signs of dehydration, hypothermia, and shock.

A video that USCG Heartland shared reflects footage of the man getting spotted at sea.

References: Independent, New York Post

Cruise Ship Guest Survives 15 Hours At Sea After He Fell Overboard appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News