Coast Guard Rescue of Cruise Passenger Who Fell Overboard for 15 Hours Hailed as a Thanksgiving Miracle

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A man fell onboard a Carnival cruise and was able to swim for over 15 hours in open waters after his ordeal. The U.S. Coast Guard saved him.

A 28-year-old male, unidentified, was a passenger on Carnival Valor’s cruise from New Orleans Louisiana to Cozumel Mexico.

Carnival Cruise Line reported that the man was aboard the cruise ship’s bar from 11:59 on Wednesday. His sister thought he had gone to the bathroom. The sister reported him missing the next day.

The man was found on the cruise ship, but he was not located. The Carnival Valor crew reported the missing man to the Coast Guard at 2:30 p.m.

To find the man, Coast Guard sent an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, a 45-foot response vessel, and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft.

Someone was swimming around the area 20 miles south of the Southwest Pass in Louisiana after a tip was received by a large vessel carrying cargo.

Jayhawk crew found the man in the water around 8:25 on Thursday. He was responsive.

Lt. Seth Gross, Sector New Orleans search and rescue mission coordinator, stated that the man was in shock and hypothermia but could still communicate and walk.

Gross told CNN, “Gross was able to identify his name and confirm that he was the one responsible for the person who fell onboard. ”

He was flown by helicopter to New Orleans Lakefront Airport where he received emergency medical treatment.

Gross said that the case was resolved positively and that he was very grateful. The case could have turned out differently if not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel Crisis.

Gross said that he doesn’t know the reason why the man fell out of the boat, or when it happened.

Gross stated that it is not possible to know when he entered the water. We believe he entered the waterway between Wednesday and Thursday.

Gross claimed that 15 hours in open water would be his longest time in the ocean in 17 years of professional experience. It was a “Thanksgiving Miracle” that the cruise ship passenger survived.

Gross said, “The fact he could stay above the water’s surface for so long is something you can’t take as a given. It is something that will stick in my memory forever.”

Gross stated, “It kinda blows out, or the usual here, and really just shows you that the will to survive, is something you must account for in any case of search-and-rescue. ”