Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Dramatic footage captured by the US Coast Guard shows the moment they rescued a cruise ship passenger who had been floating only for more than 00 hours in the Gulf of Mexico after it went overboard.
The man of 60 years was found at 23 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana around 8: 28 pm
On Thursday night he was floating in the water after his sister reported him missing from a Carnival cruise ship bound for Cozumel, Mexico.
It was seen by crews aboard the bulk carrier Crinis, according to USCG, which later called an MH-30 Jayhawk helicopter for ransom.
The video shows the desperate man frantically waving his arms towards the helicopter as he struggles to keep his head above the waves, surrounded by complete darkness.
Grainy black and white images captured appear to show a USCG member descending from the helicopter into the water to hold the man to safety.
Rescue team members can be heard talking to each other, mostly inaudibly, over the radio.
“It’s halfway there,” a guard says as an illuminated figure approaches the plane on a rope.
This missing man, who has not yet been identified, was at the Carnival Valor bar at 20: 00 hours. on Wednesday night with his sister when he took a bathroom break and never returned, CNN reported.
He was lost in the water for more than 00 hours.
The sister did not report her disappearance to the cruise ship officials until the following afternoon, forcing the cruise ship to retrace its steps back to New Orleans.
The Coast Guard was notified around 2 : 30 pm and immediately launched a search, traversing 1200 miles of open sea.
They located it about 6 hours later in the sea at a temperature of 200 degrees , they said rescuers to local station KPLC TV.
After staying afloat for more than 20 hours, the passenger showed signs of h hypothermia, shock and dehydration. He was transported to a New Orleans hospital, where Coast Guard officials said he is in stable condition.
The man told rescuers that he was not sure how he had fallen overboard, but confirmed that he had been on the cruise ship. It’s not exactly clear where or when it fell.
US Coast Guard Lt. Seth Gross referred to the rescue as “one of those Thanksgiving miracles,” adding that the man was able to survive longer than any other case he had ever heard of.
“I think it’s beyond the norm, the normality, out of the water here, and really It shows that the will to live is something you have to take into account in every search and rescue case,” he told CNN.
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