A girl who fell overboard while on a Disney cruise was rescued by her dad after he dived into the water after her.
The cruise ship Disney Dream has since returned to Port Everglades in Florida after a four day cruise to the Bahamas, but on Sunday (29 June), a child fell overboard while the ship was between the Caribbean islands and Florida.
According to CBS, it is unclear how the child fell overboard as the cruise ship has plexiglass safety barriers on its decks.
Her father bravely jumped into the ocean after her, with other passengers saying they saw him reach her and start treading water as an emergency alert was sounded on the cruise ship and a rescue boat was launched.
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The dad was seen handing his daughter over to crew members in the rescue boat before being helped into the craft himself as they were brought back on board the cruise ship to cheers from onlookers.
"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," a spokesperson for Disney Cruises told USA Today.
"We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols."
One of the passengers on the ship, Kevin Furuta, claimed the girl fell overboard from the fourth deck of the cruise ship and said that an emergency alert went out across the loudspeakers saying that there was a 'man overboard' on the port side of the vessel.
In a Facebook post he made about the incident, he praised the ship's crew for being 'on it immediately'.
7 News reports that an investigation is underway to determine how the girl fell overboard from the cruise ship.
Cruise ships have a strict policy when the 'man overboard' call is put out, with the ship's bridge alerted to the emergency.
Some cruise liners will use the phrase 'Code Oscar' to avoid stirring up passengers too much, though now you know what it means you'll recognise it if you hear it.
The crew will make sure to log the exact coordinates the vessel is at when the 'man overboard' call goes up, as cases where the unfortunate individuals are harder to find than the father and daughter can sometimes require an extensive search effort.
They'll then get on with search and rescue efforts as soon as possible, and in this case both people were safely returned to the cruise ship.
LADbible has contacted Disney Cruises for further comment.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Disney, Travel
Joe Harker