Riviera Maya, Q.R. — A man who fell overboard a cruise ship heading for Cozumel has been rescued. The 28 year old man was located in the sea Thursday night after falling overboard the evening before.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the cruise ship passenger was located Thursday evening approximately 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call from the Carnival Valor at approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday, reporting a passenger aboard the cruise ship was missing. Watchstanders then coordinated the launch of several rescue crews to begin searching.
At 8:25 p.m., a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew rescued the 28-year-old male who had fallen overboard from the Carnival Valor on Wednesday evening.
The aircrew was vectored into the area by the bulk carrier CRINIS who had observed a person in the water. The Jayhawk aircrew hoisted the man onto the helicopter and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
“We are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome,” said Lt. Seth Gross, a Sector New Orleans search and rescue mission coordinator.
“It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety. If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel Crinis, this case could have had a much more difficult ending.”
The man was last reported in stable condition.
According to the BBC, the man was at a bar on the Carnival Valor ship with his sister when the incident happened. He went to use the bathroom but never returned. He was found alive, floating in the Gulf of Mexico some 15 hours later.
Lieutenant Seth Gross of the U.S. Coast Guard called the rescue “one of those Thanksgiving miracles”.
