Carnival Fascination Rescues Man-Overboard Victim

Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed Tuesday that the crew of the Carnival Fascination successfully rescued a man-overboard victim Saturday morning, as previously reported by passengers on social media.

According to Carnival, the Fascination rescued a guest who had jumped overboard from Deck 10 at about 0800 hours on Saturday. Crewmembers and passengers saw the event and notified the bridge team, which returned the vessel to the location of the incident. The captain dispatched a rescue boat, and the crew successfully brought the victim back on board. "He is in good condition and was evaluated by the ship’s medical team," a Carnival spokesperson told Fox News.

Reports differ about the circumstances leading up to the man-overboard incident. 

 

The location of the incident was not disclosed. On Saturday the Fascination was en route from Bridgetown, Barbados to San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has since continued on her normal itinerary to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Lucia.

Successful rescues are relatively uncommon in cruise ship man-overboard incidents. Last year, only three of the 23 people who went overboard from a cruise ship were rescued, indicating a survival rate of just over 10 percent. 

In a separate incident Saturday, the Carnival cruise ship Carnival Paradise rescued a sailor in distress off the coast of Cozumel. The Mexican Coast Guard arrived after the rescue and brought the survivor back to shore; a Mexican Coast Guard patrol boat also helped tow one of the Paradise's enclosed lifeboats - which her crew had launched for the response - back to the ship.