A passenger fell overboard on a Norwegian Epic cruise ship Tuesday night near the Bahamas, and crew members boarded rescue boats and saved her in the darkness.
‘My server looked out my window, and just the way he looked out … I was about to order dessert, and I said, ‘What happened?’ He said, ‘Someone jumped off the ship,” said eyewitness Kareen Kennedy.
Patrol boats went out into the dark waters and waves using searchlights. It was thankfully a quick expedition, as the captain soon after announced the woman had been rescued.
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A woman fell overboard during a cruise on a Norwegian Epic cruise, and was quickly rescued
After the dramatic rescue the woman was taken off the cruise ship on a stretcher (behind EMS)
Kennedy recorded the captain’s announcement using her iPhone, according to USA Today.
‘They found the person in the water, and she was picked up and she’s now in the hospital. So everything is good there,’ the captain said.
‘Just to let you know that we will soon be on our way up to Port Canaveral. We have to retrieve our tender boat that did the rescue operation, and then we will be on our way shortly,’ he said.
The unidentified passenger was evaluated on board the ship, and was said to be in stable condition, according to WESH.
It is unclear how she fell overboard.
Once the ship reached Port Canaveral on Wednesday the Brevard County Fire Rescue personnel transported the patient to a local hospital.
‘I really was impressed. My first thought was, ‘What are they going to do?’ because we were moving at top speed when this happened. We were moving at a pretty quick speed because we were trying to make up time to get back,’ Kennedy said.
‘They got in the water quickly. It was only an hour’s delay from the time they announced it and stopped to when we started going back to Port Canaveral,’ she said.
The trip was not without other hiccups, as rough waters thwarted plans to stop at Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay because of the unusually high seas.
Epic’s Port Canaveral four-day Bahamas cruises include stops at Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. Kennedy said the ship left Saturday, but was unable to stop at either destination Sunday or Monday because of unusually high seas.
‘We are thankful that our team reacted quickly and was able to rescue the guest,’ the Norwegian Cruise Line statement read.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and their family, as they embark on the recovery process and our CARE team is providing support and assistance during this time.’