A passenger who was a guest on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship bound for the island of Curaçao went overboard and was miraculously rescued after nearly an hour-long search.
Fellow passengers onboard the cruise liner's Mariner of the Seas vessel watched in horror and not knowing whether or not the unnamed 42-year-old female passenger who fell from deck 10 into the waters below, 30 miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic, would be found alive.
Luckily, the woman was saved after the ship's crew members launched a rescue boat and spent roughly 45 minutes looking for her.
Ricardo Castrodad, a spokesman for the US Coast Guard, said the woman:
"was recovered alive and reported to be in good health, after reportedly falling into the water from 10th deck of the ship."
The lucky survivor was immediately taken to the ship's medical facility after being rescued.
She was later transferred to a hospital in Willemstad, Curaçao.
Castrodad added:
"no medical evacuation of the passenger was requested by the cruise ship."
You can watch a news report of the incident, here.
Many on board the 15-story high cruise liner observed the dramatic rescue mission and thought the chances of the woman's survival were slim to none.
When fellow passenger Matthew Kuhn said he saw two empty life preservers floating in the water, he feared for the worst.
Kuhn said:
"I thought after that we were going to be here trying to recover a body."
"There's no way someone can survive that fall. Like that's a long fall."
Those watching from their balconies banded together in helping to guide the rescue boat as the crew members searched the waters.
When they found the guest and pulled her from the waters, the relieved passengers watching the mission succeed cheered.
Kuhn shared:
"Pretty much everyone was on their balcony."
"I think there was a majority of people that saw something [in the water] and that's really where it took over."
Kuhn added:
"To go from that to wow they found her, someone's alive was a whirlwind."
"I can't even describe like just going from like super somber to wow, I can't believe this just happened."
Kuhn's wife, Amiee Kuhn recalled:
"She was sitting up when they brought her back, and the whole ship was cheering, and then they did come on and confirm it was a successful rescue mission."
Social media users were relieved to hear the dramatic rescue ended successfully.
Royal Caribbean issued a statement following the incident that read:
"The ship and crew immediately reported the incident to local authorities and began searching for the guest."
"Thankfully, the guest was successfully recovered and was brought on board."
"Our care team is now offering assistance and support to them and their traveling party."
"Out of privacy for the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share."
Details leading to the woman going overboard have not been disclosed.
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