A story worthy of a Hollywood movie happened on a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the early hours following the Carnival Valor departed New Orleans on Wednesday, a brother and sister visited a bar aboard the ship.
Around 11 p.m., the 28-year-old got up to go to the bathroom, according to a statement from a Carnival spokesperson provided to CNN.
He never came back.
The sister reported her brother missing around noon the following day, US Thanksgiving Day, the statement seen by CNN said.
Calls were made over the cruise ship’s loudspeakers asking the missing passenger to report to Customer Service, passenger Mike Anderson told CNN.
Screenshot/CNN
Cruise lines have also “noticed security guards searching the boat with the photo of the missing passenger on their phone.”
Around 2 p.m., a final call was made to ask the passenger to report to customer service.
Passengers were then notified that the arrival time at the port of Cozumel, Mexico was delayed.
The cruise ship then turned around, according to Mike Anderson.
“Carnival Valor has made its way back to aid search and rescue operations,” the company spokesperson confirmed to CNN.
Around 2:30 p.m., the coast guard received a call from the ship for a missing passenger.
A search operation, on the water and in the air, then began.
An alert was issued to all sailors who were in the Gulf of Mexico.
The search extended to an area of more than 200 miles (320 km), Lt. Seth Gross, search and rescue coordinator for the US Coast Guard, told CNN.
The water temperature on Thursday was around 21 degrees Celsius, according to the lieutenant.
Then, a miracle happened: the 28-year-old young man was found by the crew of a bulk carrier around 8:25 p.m., regarding 32 km south of Southwest Pass, one of the channels at the mouth of the Mississippi River. in Louisiana.
The survivor did not give details on the causes of his fall and the precise moment when he fell.
Rescuers estimate he may have spent more than 15 hours in the water.
“The fact that he was able to float and hold himself above water for such a long time is just something you can’t take for granted and certainly something I’m going to worry regarding. remember all my life,” Lt. Gross told CNN.
