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Two guests, said to be a father and his young daughter, have been rescued by crew after going into the water while onboard the Disney Dream cruise ship as it returned from a voyage around the Bahamas.
Disney confirmed that the rescue happened on June 29, saying that both were returned to the ship within minutes of entering the water.
Social media posts from customers on board reported that the pair were a father and his young daughter. The father is said to have jumped in to rescue his daughter after she fell from the ship. It’s unclear how she ended up overboard.
“The crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water,” Disney said in a statement to CNN.
“We commend our Crew Members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”
The ship was returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a four-night cruise in the Bahamas, Newsweek reported, citing Disney officials.
Passengers took to social media to share their videos of the boat rescue.
“We heard an M.O.B (man overboard) call over the ship’s speaker. A little girl had fallen into the water, and her father jumped in after to save her,” said Floridian Janice Martin-Asuque on Facebook. “Thank God they’re both safe.”
Passenger overboard incidents are relatively rare on cruise ships. Tales of rescue and survival can be even more extraordinary.
In 2022, 28-year-old James Michael Grimes fell overboard from a Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico. He swam for what he believed to be more than 15 hours before being rescued by the Coast Guard.
In 2015, a former Miami Dolphins player, Rob Konrad, said he swam for more than nine miles to reach shore after falling off his boat near the South Florida coast.
