According to passengers, videos on social media, and a statement from Disney Cruise Line, a father jumped into the water to save his young daughter after she fell off of a Disney Cruise Line ship on its way back to South Florida. This led to a dramatic rescue at sea.
The accident took place on the Disney Dream on Sunday while it was sailing from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale.
The Street was the first to report that the child fell overboard during the last part of the cruise, and her father jumped in after her right away. People on the boat said he stood still for more than 10 minutes.
The ship’s crew threw life jackets into the water and launched a rescue boat as an emergency alert went off.
“The ship was moving so fast that it’s crazy how quickly the people on board turned into tiny dots in the water and you lost track of them.” “The captain slowed down and turned the ship around, and then they sent a smaller ship with people on it to go get them,” said passenger Laura Amador. “We saw them save the dad and daughter.”
After a four-night cruise through the Bahamas, the Disney Dream arrived at Port Everglades early Monday morning.
The father and daughter’s names have not been made public.
People on the Disney cruise watch a quick rescue
The father was seen treading water with his daughter in his arms in a TikTok video by user Noeayala32. After that, he gave her to a cruise ship rescue crew and then got on the boat himself.
“Yes, I saw one person fall, but not the other one.” I believed there was only one person. It was an adult. I believe they were trying to take a picture on the handrail. This is what Noeayala32 said in the video: “They were trying to see.”
It was shown on video that people on the ship cheered when the rescue mission was over.
“Oh, I see him, good for him. How did he make it that long? There were two people saved, and Melanie Rickman, a passenger, said this as she recorded the event on her phone.
“Oh my God, that dad needs a hero.” He is a hero. He jumped in to protect his kid. From Charleston, South Carolina, passenger Tracy Robinson-Hughes said, “That man is a hero. He’s a hero. That man is a hero.”
“I was so upset that I cried like a baby.” Robinson-Hughes added, “We were all scared.”
As soon as Disney heard about it, they stopped the ship, and I mean Disney. They were very well trained for this, as you can tell. There was cheering all around.
“To be honest, it took everyone’s breath away,” said passenger Eric Pabon. Even though it was scary, I would have done the same thing as a father, as I already said.
“It was an experience I will never forget.” “I hope I never see them again,” Pabon said.
A cruise expert weighs in and praises the answer
Amanda Berry, a cruise expert on TikTok who goes by the name Mandy the Cruise Planner, has been paying close attention to what’s going on.
“My reaction to that is obviously relief that a child was saved and that the father was also saved,” Berry said, “but also at the same time, a lot of experienced cruisers have noticed, especially in the last two or three years, a lot of parents not closely monitoring their kids as much.”
Berry also said that Disney ships like the Dream have Plexiglas barriers to keep people from falling overboard, but it is still very rare for people to survive.
“Approximately only 17 to 25 percent of people survive once they go overboard, so the fact that both of them were found and rescued is honestly a testament to the Disney staff that was able to save them,” she added.
Disney Cruise releases a statement about what happened
Our crew members did a great job and acted quickly, which made sure that both guests got back to the ship safely within minutes. “We care about the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident shows how well our safety procedures work,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement.
On Facebook, Kevin Furuta, who was on the ship, said that the child fell from Deck 4 and her dad went in after her.
“I saw the mother crying and but when they rescued them, I think that’s when the tears really started flowing, because you were just so overjoyed knowing and I prayed to God to save them, and he did,” Robinson-Hughes said when she left.
Plexiglas safety barriers are on the ship’s decks, so it’s not clear how the child fell overboard.
