Personal Injury Law

Drama at sea: Disney cruise ship comes to rescue after Carnival passenger goes overboard

By Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A.

(7:56 AM) -- A Disney cruise ship sailing off the coast of Florida has rescued a Carnival passenger who went overboard during the night.

Disney spokeswoman Rena Langley says the Disney Wonder pulled the passenger out of the water at about 12:45 am ET after responding to a call for help from the Carnival Sensation.

Langley says the Disney ship was about 17 miles south of Port Canaveral, Fla., when it made the rescue, and the ship brought the passenger into the port where he was taken to a hospital by ambulance as a precaution.

"We're incredibly proud of our crew members who were able to locate the individual in distress and bring him safely aboard the Disney Wonder," Langley tells USA TODAY.

Both the 2,056-passenger Carnival Sensation and the 2,400-passenger Disney Wonder were returning to Port Canaveral after a cruise to the Bahamas.

The entire ordeal, notably, was documented in a series of tweets from a passenger on board the Disney ship.

"I'm on a Disney Caribbean cruise, and just now, we RESCUED A MAN FROM THE OCEAN," the stream of Twitter.com postings from BigHeadDennis began early this morning.

BigHeadDennis, who describes himself as "mostly just another boring suburban dad" in his Twitter profile, tweeted that he could hear the Carnival passenger screaming from the water.

"The Captain got onto the PA system and asked everyone to keep quiet, so the lifeboat crew could pinpoint the guy from his yelling," he tweeted, followed by word the passenger was "safe and sound."

BigHeadDennis' final tweet: "Guess that Disney magic is real."

Cruise Loggers, share your thoughts below.

UPDATE, 9:55 AM ET: Carnival has issued a brief statement saying the passenger who went overboard from the Carnival Sensation overnight was seen jumping from a balcony.

"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," the statement says. "The ship immediately began search and rescue operations, including returning the vessel to the area where the man was witnessed going overboard."

In the statement, Carnival also thanked the officers and crew of the Disney Wonder, and the U.S. Coast Guard, for aiding in the search.

UPDATE, 1:02 PM ET:Orlando's local CBS television affiliate is reporting that the man who allegedly jumped off the Carnival Sensation last night was heard arguing with a woman just before the incident.

"He threatened to jump, and she said, 'Go ahead,' and he did," passenger Marie McDonald tells Orlando's Local 6 News. "Then we heard the man screaming, 'Help! Help!"'

Full post as published by Cruise Ship Law on September 04, 2009 (boomark / email).