A GIRL fell overboard from a Disney cruise vessel – prompting her dad to jump in the water after her.
The accident happened when the Disney Dream ship was returning back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 29.
Facebook/Dewayne SmithPassengers shared pictures of the rescue mission after a girl reportedly fell from a Disney cruise ship[/caption]
Facebook/Kevin FurutaThe girl is believed to have fallen from the fourth deck of the ship[/caption]
The ship was heading back to Florida as part of a four-day trip to the Bahamas, as per USA Today.
Kevin Furuta, a passenger on board the vessel, which can carry up to 3,500 travelers, claimed a girl fell from the fourth deck of the ship.
In a Facebook post, he said the child’s dad jumped into the water in a frantic bid to save his daughter.
Furuta revealed passengers heard the man overboard alarm on the ship’s loudspeaker.
He later shared a picture from the fourth deck, showing where the girl fell.
Fellow passenger Dewayne Smith said the crew jumped into action “asap.”
“Lots of praying folks on this ship!” he wrote on Facebook.
“Both the little girl and dad were both successfully rescued!”
The dad was reportedly treading water for around 20 minutes in a desperate bid to keep his daughter afloat, as per The New York Post.
A Disney Cruises official told the Fox affiliate WOFL-TV that two people were rescued from the water swiftly.
“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,” they said.
“We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”
Footage since shared on TikTok shows the yellow rescue boat being lifted up to the ship after the father and daughter were rescued.
The ship has plexiglass barriers, so it remains unknown how the girl went overboard.
The Disney Dream vessel departed Fort Lauderdale on June 26 before arriving in Nassau, The Bahamas, the following morning, as per CruiseMapper.
The ship, christened by Jennifer Hudson, then toured around Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point on June 28.
And, it docked in Fort Lauderdale at around 8am local time on June 30.
It cost $900 million to build in 2010 and it has 14 decks.
The vessel, which has 1250 cabins, was last refurbished in 2024, according to Cruise Mapper.
And, it can reach top speeds of 25mph.
In December, a man, 51, traveling on board a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel heading to the Bahamas went overboard.
A frantic search was launched before it was later abandoned after officials could not find the passenger.
The vessel was in the middle of a Caribbean voyage, having left Port Canaveral on December 21.
And, a man vanished without a trace after falling overboard from the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
APThe cruise ship has since docked in Florida (stock)[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
