Search suspended for cruise ship passenger who fell overboard off Hawaii
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When he didn't return to his cabin that night, his sister reported him missing. LA FAYETTE, ALABAMA -- James Michael Grimes is speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with ABC News after going overboard on a Carnival cruise ship after being missing for almost 20 hours. Additionally, a 42-year-old passenger sailing onboard Mariner of the Seas in June 2023 was rescued after going overboard while sailing south of Punta Cana en route to Willemstad, Curaçao. The ship turned around and successfully rescued the guest after about an hour of searching.
Coast Guard searching for Carnival cruise ship passenger who went overboard
He spent nearly 20 hours alone, treading water in the Gulf of Mexico after falling off a cruise ship and being saved on Thanksgiving. James Michael Grimes spoke about the experience Friday, saying it has taught him to not take life for granted. Crew members searched the ship and reviewed security camera footage to find the man, the Carnival spokesperson said. They contacted shoreside authorities once they determined the man had jumped off the ship. The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday that it halted its search for a woman who went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico. The passenger — who was showing signs of hypothermia, shock and dehydration — told rescuers he wasn’t sure how he’d fallen overboard but confirmed he’d been on the cruise ship.
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While dressing in a pair of pants he planned to wear on the cruise, Grimes said he found a fortune cookie fortune in the pants pocket that read "Life's a beach. Enjoy the waves." "He told me to hold on to this life vest, and I was just thinking 'Thank you, you were like a guardian angel coming down for me,'" he said. "At that time, I thought, how much longer am I going to have to be out here," he said. "The fall didn't kill me and the sea creatures didn't eat me. I felt like I was meant to get out here." As time passed and the sun began to set, Grimes said the water started getting colder.
Rules Royal Caribbean has required crew to follow if a person goes overboard
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The best-case scenario is that someone on the ship spots the person going overboard and immediately initiates a rescue operation. This was the case in July, when a woman fell off the 10th deck of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and was rescued by crew members in a dramatic, nearly hour-long rescue. On average, 19 people go overboard on cruise ships each year — and of those, only about four are rescued, Insider reported, citing a 2020 study commissioned by the industry trade group Cruise Lines International Association. The man fell off a Carnival Magic cruise ship about 186 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida.
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Antonio Planas is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. Carnival did not respond to questions regarding which man overboard-detection technologies are in place on board the Carnival Elation ship. "The Jayhawk aircrew hoisted the man onto the helicopter and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport," a statement from the Coast Guard read. The ship was on its way to Cozumel, a Mexican island in the Caribbean, and was released by the Coast Guard to continue to its destination after the rescue was made.
The cruise ship has 18 decks and can accommodate up to 3,634 passengers. A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told Business Insider that the cruise line's "Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest's family during this difficult time." Grimes was aboard the five-day cruise with 18 of his family members for Thanksgiving.
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The bridge officer must then note the ship's position while the security officer takes steps to locate the missing guest or crew member. A Carnival Cruise Line passenger went overboard on the line’s Carnival Glory ship. Reeta Sahani, 64, was declared missing after her husband, Jakesh Sahani, 70, woke up in the middle of the night and noticed she was not in their cabin.
“The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue operation and is working closely with local authorities,” the company said. The man, a passenger on the cruise ship, jumped from the vessel as the ship was returning to Jacksonville on Sunday, according to a Carnival spokesperson. The man's travel companion told crew members he was missing late in the afternoon after he had not been seen all day.
“There was a lot of yelling, and the crew was alerted immediately,” another passenger, Deborah Morrison, told The Post. The 28-year-old from Lafayette, Alabama, was with 18 relatives on a Carnival cruise to Cozumel, Mexico, when somehow, he ended up overboard after a day of fun. “He realistically could have been in the water for 15-plus hours before we were able to successfully rescue him,” Gross said. Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville.
At some point, Grimes said he thought he saw the fin of a shark, kicking at something that bumped into his leg. He later chewed on a stick he found floating in the water that appeared to be bamboo. Coast Guard officers who later saved him, aviation survival technician Richard Hoefle, told CBS News he believes Grimes "had about 30 seconds to a minute left before we would have lost him." "When I came to, regained consciousness, I was in the water with no boat in sight," he said. "I can't float myself, even when I'm trying to. So there had to be ... the Lord was with me while I was out there because something was holding me up the whole time I was passed out."
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A Carnival cruise ship passenger fell overboard into the Gulf of Mexico and was found alive against all odds on Thanksgiving Day — more than 15 hours after vanishing, officials said Friday. The cruise ship was on a four-day Bahamas sailing and on its way back to Jacksonville, Florida, at the time of the incident, Matt Lupoli, a Carnival spokesperson, said. The man was reported missing by his travel companion late Sunday afternoon after he was not seen all day. The statement read, "#Breaking @USCG crews are searching for a 20-year-old man who went overboard from the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship 57 miles from Great Inagua this morning. USCG Cutter Seneca and Air Station Miami HC-144 crews are conducting the search."
Once a passenger is reported missing, crew members might announce the person's name over the loudspeaker while conducting an onboard search. Daniel Miranda, another passenger, told the station that cruise officials said that they had “verified through the cameras” that a woman had fallen into the water. A photo he took, broadcast by the station, also showed that the area of the ship where the woman fell had been cordoned off with blue tape. "Sadly, after an exhaustive on-board search and a review of security camera video it was determined that he jumped," Lupoli said.
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