Cruise ship passenger saved after 15 hours lost at sea
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The 28-year-old man was on the Carnival Valor ship but did not return after exiting to use the restroom.
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The passenger fell overboard the Carnival Valor (Getty Images)
The US Coastguard reported that a passenger who went missing from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico has been rescued after more than 15 hours at sea.
The 28-year-old man was with his sister at a bar on the Carnival Valor ship on Wednesday night but did not return after exiting to use the restroom.
Several rescue crews explored the region before locating the man on Thursday evening, around 30 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana.
He is said to be in good health.
Footage from the rescue of the cruise ship passenger last night. Can also be downloaded here: https://t.co/xk0pBnVr1E pic.twitter.com/GK1IXCKlgx
— USCG Heartland (@USCGHeartland) November 25, 2022
According to US Coast Guard Lieutenant Seth Gross, the man could have been in the water for more than 15 hours, the "absolute longest that I've heard about - and just one of those Thanksgiving miracles."
It's unclear how the man ended up jumping into the water from the ship on its way to Cozumel, Mexico.
In 2018, a 46-year-old British woman was recovered 10 hours after falling from her cruise ship into the Adriatic Sea.
She claimed to have informed one rescuer that what helped her survive the ordeal was being fit from doing yoga and that she sang to keep warm overnight.
