A 28-year-old man who fell off a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday night was found alive nearly a day later by the Coast Guard more than 30 kilometers off the US coast. That someone is still alive after such a long time is very rare, says one of the rescuers involved, who speaks of a “miracle on Thanksgiving”.
The man was with his sister on the Carnival Valor cruise ship, which departed New Orleans Wednesday. The man disappeared around 11pm that evening, but his sister did not report him missing until noon the next day. A spokesman for the shipping company said he was against it Cnn. At 2:30 pm, the Coast Guard was called and searched for the drowning man across the Gulf of Mexico by helicopter, plane and boat.
Images that the US Coast Guard posted to Twitter on Friday show that a drowning man was spotted at sea from a helicopter Thursday night. Upon identification, it was found to be the missing man, who showed signs of hypothermia, shock and dehydration but was in stable condition.
Rescuer Seth Gross, who coordinated the search, says against Cnn that the man could not provide details on how and why he fell from the ship. Gross has never experienced anything like this in his 17-year career, he says. “This shows that the will to live is something to consider in any rescue, as it can exceed all expectations.”
