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'Thanksgiving miracle': Cruise passenger rescued at sea a day after he fell overboard
The 28-year-old man was responsive when he was found, despite it being almost 24 hours since he was last seen
November 25, 2022 6:54pm
Updated: November 28, 2022 9:39am
In an event that is being called a “Thanksgiving miracle,” the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man who had fallen from a cruise ship more than 15 hours earlier on Thursday evening.
The passenger had been drinking at one of the cruise ship’s bars with his sister and left for the restroom at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday. After he did not return to the bar or his cabin, his sister notified the cruise ship crew at around noon on Thanksgiving Day.
The New Orleans Coast Guard office received a call from the Carnival cruise ship on Thursday at around 2:30 p.m. reporting a passenger that was missing.
On Thursday evening, a carrier ship spotted a person in the water and notified the Coast Guard. The man was rescued by an aircrew at around 8:30 p.m. about 20 miles south of Southwest Pass Louisiana.
The 28-year-old man was responsive when he was found, despite it being almost 24 hours since he was last seen. While it is unknown how long he was in the water, authorities believe it could have been more than 15 hours.
It's "the absolute longest that I've heard about -- and just one of those Thanksgiving miracles," said Lt. Seth Gross, a Sector New Orleans search and rescue mission coordinator.
"We are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome," Gross added. "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."
