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A cruise ship passenger had disappeared for hours before being rescued from marine waters by the U.S. Coast Guard off the southeast coast of Louisiana Thursday night.
The passenger, whom officials identified as a 28-year-old man, was found about 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, after falling overboard from a Carnival Valor cruise ship on Wednesday night, said said the Coast Guard in a press release. Release.
However, cruise ship officials did not contact the New Orleans Coast Guard to report the missing passenger until 2:30 p.m. local time Thursday. Hours later, Coast Guard crew members rescued the passenger at 8:25 p.m. He was a crew aboard the bulk carrier Crinis who had alerted Coast Guard members to the man’s location after spotting a person in the water.
In pictures Released by the Coast Guard, the passenger is lifted from the murky waters and onto a helicopter piloted by a crew. He was then transported to New Orleans Lakeside Airport for emergency medical treatment. The passenger was in stable condition on Friday.
“We are beyond grateful that this case has ended with a positive outcome,” said New Orleans Sector Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Lt. Seth Gross.
Footage of the rescue of the passenger from the cruise ship last night. Can also be downloaded here: https://t.co/xk0pBnVr1E pic.twitter.com/GK1IXCKlgx
— USCG Heartland (@USCGHeartland) November 25, 2022
“It took a total team effort from Coast Guard observers, response teams and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and bring him to safety,” Gross said. “Without the watchful crew aboard the Crinis motor vessel, this matter could have had a much more difficult end.”