WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- A passenger who went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship was rescued overnight by a nearby Disney cruise vessel.
The Carnival cruise ship "Sensation" sent out a mayday emergency signal at about 11:13 p.m. Wednesday, asking for help from any boat or ship that could help try and locate the missing passenger.
A Disney cruise ship, the "Wonder" responded, located the man at about 12:40 a.m., and brought him aboard where he was examined.
Witnesses say the man who was rescued actually jumped off his cruise ship.
According to CNN, those witnesses claim he was arguing with a woman on the ship Carnival Sensation, and when he threatened to jump, she said "go ahead," and so he did.
A passenger aboard the Wonder said he witnessed the entire scenario unfold, and wrote about it on his online Twitter page.
In six entries he posted on the website Twitter,
BigHeadDennis (Dennis) wrote: "I'm on a Disney cruise and we just rescued a man from the ocean. A guy fell off a Carnival ship. We could hear him screaming from the water. We stopped and dropped in a lifeboat," tweeted Dennis. He went on to explain in his tweets how the Disney ship's captain announced over the ship's speaker system, asking everyone to be quiet so the lifeboat crew could pinpoint where the man was from his screams for help. Dennis also reported that he saw the crew scoop the man from the water, well before the Coast Guard arrived at the scene. Then Dennis tweeted, "Safe and sound." And then a final entry, "Guess that Disney magic is REAL."
The U.S. Coast Guard says the rescue took place approximately 28 nautical miles (32.4 miles) east of the Port St. Lucie inlet.
Both cruise vessels were on journeys between Port Canaveral and The Bahamas.
The Disney ship met up with another boat in an area of the ocean described as the "Miami Buoy" where the Coast Guard says it understood that the unidentified passenger was transferred.
It is unclear if the passenger, said to be 34-years-old, was injured and required any immediate medical attention.
The Wonder has now arrived at its home destination at Port Canaveral.
A short time ago Carnival Cruise Lines released the following statement:Yesterday evening, at approximately 11:15 p.m., a 34-year-old male guest was witnessed jumping overboard from a balcony stateroom on the Carnival Sensation which was on the final night of a four-day cruise to the Bahamas and returning to its homeport of Port Canaveral.
The ship immediately began search and rescue operations, including returning the vessel to the area where the man was witnessed going overboard. All appropriate authorities were notified.
The man was found at approximately 12:45 a.m. by the Disney Wonder cruise ship which was assisting in the rescue efforts. The individual remained on the Disney Wonder as it sailed back to its homeport of Port Canaveral.
Carnival wishes to extend its thanks and appreciation to the officers and crew of the Disney Wonder, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, for their assistance.
Carnival Sensation returned to Port Canaveral Thursday morning.
Information from
ABC15.com contributed to this report.
