Royal Caribbean passenger taking selfie survives falling overboard from 10th deck as cruise ship was off Punta Cana in dramatic rescue as terrified passengers looked on during 40 minute rescue.
A female passenger who fell overboard from the 10th deck of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Sunday is reported to have survived her ordeal following a dramatic hour-long rescue in front of terrified passengers.
The unnamed 42-year-old woman on board the Mariner of the Seas plunged into the water roughly 27 nautical miles south of Punta Cana, just off the Dominican Republic at about 5:44 p.m., the US Coast Guard said in a statement.
Cruise ship crew members launched a small rescue boat and were able to locate her in the vast ocean and safely bring her back on board the Coast Guard said.
How exactly did woman fall overboard?
The woman, a US resident, was unscathed and required no medical attention, though she was later brought to the hospital for an evaluation.
‘The ship and crew immediately reported the incident to local authorities and began searching for the guest,’ Royal Caribbean said in a statement. ‘Thankfully, the guest was successfully recovered and was brought on board.’
Many passengers aboard the cruise ship said they had expected the worst as they watched the scene unfold from their balconies, Fox35 reported.
‘After we saw the life rafts or the life preservers and the smoke — I was like, someone just died,’ passenger, Matthew Kuhn told the outlet.
Upon the woman being hoisted out the waters, passengers on the main ship began cheering, FOX35 reported.
The un-named woman’s rescue is just short of miraculous with only 28% of cruise ship passengers falling overboard ever safely rescued, according to a Cruise Lines International Association report that tracked operational incidents from 2009 to 2019.
While cheers were ignited following the woman’s rescue, social media was awash with speculation as to how the woman actually fell into the deep waters.
Posted one commentator: ‘It just has to be impossible to “fall” over a rail on a cruise ship. I’m 5’7″ and the rails are up to my chest!’
Wrote another: ‘She was probably taking a selfie.’ – a reference which has since been confirmed by Cruise Radio news on Tuesday.
And another who posted: ‘She jumped on purpose. There’s no way anyone is “falling off” a cruise ship.’
The cruise is set to return to Port Canaveral, Florida on July 1.
