An unexpected rescue. A cruise ship passenger was found alive nearly 21 hours after falling overboard Thursday in the US Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, reports The Guardian. The US Coast Guard evokes a “Thanksgiving miracle” as Americans celebrated the national holiday on Thursday.
Investigation in an area of more than 300km
The drop takes place on Wednesday, according to CNN. A 28-year-old man, vacationing on the Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Valor, leaves the bar where he is on board with his sister at about 11:00 p.m. to go up on deck.
Worried that she will not be heard from again, her sister warns the crew members the next day. While the man on the liner cannot be traced, the flight crew advises the coast guard Thursday around 2:30 p.m.
A ship from Florida, a helicopter based in New Orleans, as well as planes from Florida and Alabama are mobilized to carry out an operation that promises to be complex. In fact, the man has been missing for several hours when he contacted the emergency services, so the search area extends for more than 300 km.
After more than 6 hours of work, the members of a boat announce that they have discovered “a person in the water”.
“Something that will remain engraved in me”
The Coast Guard helicopter was quickly dispatched to the scene. He picks up the survivor and transports him to a New Orleans airport emergency room.
“He was able to give his name and confirm that he was the person who went overboard,” search coordinator Lt. Seth Gross told CNN. The exact circumstances of his fall are still unknown.
Rescuers said they had rarely heard of someone surviving in the water for so long. “It is not something that can be taken for granted and without a doubt it is something that will remain engraved in me,” said Seth Gross who praised the “will to live” of the miraculous.
Source: BFM TV
