It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: your child falls overboard on a cruise ship.
That’s what happened when a family was on a Disney cruise and their child suddenly fell into the water.
Witnesses describe a horrific sound, then bloodcurdling screams.
The 5-year-old fell while on a Disney cruise returning from the Bahamas
Image credits: disneycruise.disney.go.com
Image credits: Christian Lambert / Unsplash
The terror unfolded on Sunday, June 29th, on the return leg of a four-day cruise to the Bahamas.
A little girl and her family were on Deck 4 of the Disney Dream, one of six ships owned by the Disney Cruise Line Group.
That’s when a child suddenly fell overboard.
According to officials from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the girl is 5 years old and was alone on the railing when she tipped over and hit the water.
“He wanted to take a picture, and she fell off”: Witnesses describe the scene
Image credits: GlobalNews / Reddit
A passenger named Gar Frantz told local media what they witnessed.
“She was sitting on the rail, and he wanted to take a picture, and she fell off,” Frantz said.
“We were just on that deck. And then you saw them throwing, like, life jackets over the sides and stuff.”
Image credits: Janice Martin-Asuque / Facebook
A member of the crew told another passenger that “the little girl was in an area she wasn’t supposed to be in, and she fell.”
A few moments later, her father did what any parent would do in that moment: he jumped in after her.
The girl’s father is being hailed a hero after jumping in to save her
Image credits: Cruising for Happy People / Facebook
In what rescuers are calling a heroic move, the girl’s father quickly got in the water with his child.
Witnesses describe chilling screams from the girl’s mother and a loud crashing sound.
Shortly after, members of the crew began mobilizing into action.
Image credits: YOOPERIPA / X
The emergency code for man overboard- “M.O.B.”- began blaring from the ship’s intercom.
Then, a smaller yellow boat with four rescuers launched from the cruise ship into the ocean to retrieve the father and daughter.
The rescue team from the cruise ship is also praised for their actions
@lifeofchandler OVERBOARD Rescue on Disney Dream. 2 passengers overboard between Nassau and Grand Bahama #disney #cruise #overboard #cruisetok #mob #cruiseship #disneycruise #disneydream ♬ original sound – Chandler Sphynx
Witnesses told local TV news outlets that the ship was traveling fast, and that the pair were soon just dots on the horizon.
After treading water while holding his daughter for about 20 minutes, the pair was brought aboard the rescue ship.
The cruise liner, meanwhile, made a U-turn to recover the rescue ship.
Image credits: Gar Frantz / Facebook
The statement from Disney Cruise Line said: “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.”
The statement continued: “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”
“It was pretty traumatizing”: Other passengers describe their experience
Image credits: Nikki Samsill Jackson / Facebook
But what really happened remains a mystery.
One passenger told the Daily Mail it was her first time on a cruise ship, and perhaps her last.
‘It was my first cruise ever, and it was pretty traumatizing trying to wrap my head around it,’ Nikki Samsill Jackson told the DM.
Image credits: Facebook
Another passenger named Monica Shannon, who was on Deck 3 at the time, said she saw something fly past unexpectedly, but didn’t think much of it.
When she realized what had happened, she asked a crew member for more details.
The crew member told Shannon that the little girl had been climbing on the plexiglass barriers that protect the railing while her parents played shuffleboard.
Police say an investigation is ongoing.
Statistics show that the majority of people who go overboard are not rescued alive
Image credits: Shannon Pechacek Lindholm / Facebook
@cmd.91 Today, while on the Disney Dream, we witnessed nothing short of a miracle. We were in our stateroom when we heard “Mr MOB, Mr MOB, Mr MOB… port side”. My husband ran to the balcony because he understood that meant there was a man overboard. Immediately, my heart started racing, and I began a constant prayer. Disney acted quick as they tossed out multiple life preserver rings, slowed the ship, and began turning as they prepared the small boat to go out for a rescue. As we watched the whole thing go down and I zoomed in, I realized there wasn’t one… but two people in the water. We watched as the boat got to them, and I was even more surprised when I saw them pull up a little girl (we heard she was only 5 years old) onto the boat. Followed by who we assume is her father. This man jumped in after her and helped her stay afloat for at least 20 minutes while the rescue team pulled off a rescue I will never forget. God was in this story from the beginning. It happened during the day, while we were cruising very slowly, in very calm seas. I’m so thankful both the man and the little girl are safe. And for anyone who wants to judge how something like this happens, it can happen in the blink of an eye. There is zero judgment from me, just so much relief and praise. I can’t imagine how exhausted and in shock both of these people are. If you do go on a cruise in the future and have a balcony, please don’t let your kids be unattended outside and keep the furniture away from the edge. #disneydream #rescue #overboard #godisinthisstory #praise #cruise ♬ Goodness of God (Instrumental) – The Worship Initiative Instrumentals & The Worship Initiative
The ship has emergency response and detection procedures to prevent similar situations.
According to an article in USA Today, Disney’s ships are equipped with technology that could include “thermal cameras and micro radars,” which help detect when people go overboard.
Unfortunately, even with the technology, instances of people falling or jumping overboard on a cruise ship tend to not end well.
The USA Today article says that there were “212 overboard incidents involving passengers and crew around the world from 2009 to 2019.”
However, a mere 48 people were rescued.
“I bet the father feels terrible.”: Some netizens have sympathy for the family
Image credits: Cruising for Happy People / Facebook
Because most ‘man overboard’ scenarios don’t end well, the father has been both praised for his quick actions and derided for not paying better attention to what his child was doing.
“I bet the father feels terrible. I’m glad they’re ok,” one person said.
Other people noted the split-second decision the father made, saying they would have done the same.
Image credits: Raintarget / YouTube
And as for the Disney cruise ship staff?
Netizens also heralded them for their bravery, with one person saying that all the “annoying training” does, in fact, sometimes pay off.
“What a miracle!, said one person
Some netizens say the girl who fell from a Disney Cruise ship should have been better monitored
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