Police reveal truth behind worrying rumour over dad who jumped off Disney cruise to save daughter

Police have set the record straight amid a flurry of speculation surrounding how the five-year-old girl fell overboard from a Disney cruise ship.

The youngster sparked panic among passengers after tumbling into the water from the ship's fourth deck on Sunday (29 June) while the vessel sailed back to Florida from the Bahamas.

Those onboard the Disney Dream liner watched on in awe as the girl's father heroically leaped in after her, before miraculously managing to tread water until a rescue boat reached them both.

Eyewitnesses who shared their accounts of the dramatic incident on social media have claimed that the 37-year-old man managed to keep him and his daughter afloat for at least 20 minutes.

Maritime experts have described the pair as 'very lucky', while some have even described the dad's rescue effort as 'nothing short of a miracle'.

However, not everyone online was this complimentary - and inevitably, rumours have been circulating about the circumstances which led up to the young girl going overboard.

It was claimed that her father had naively lifted her on top of a 3.5ft inch railing to take a photo, only for her to fall backwards and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, police have revealed the truth behind the worrying rumour.

On Wednesday (2 July) afternoon, the Broward County Sheriff's Office insisted that the allegation was nothing more than inaccurate gossip.

According to Sheriff Gregory Tony, the five-year-old was sitting on the railing and tumbled backwards through a porthole - but her dad did not position her there.

In fact, he didn't even see the incident unfold, police said.

"After the girl’s mother alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter," Sheriff Tony said.

"BSO detectives said after the 37-year-old father found his daughter, he treaded water until they were rescued by a tender that was launched from the ship."

CCTV footage from the cruise ship and statements from Disney cruise staff supported this version of events, cops said.

The dad was hospitalised after the ship reached dry land after becoming hurt while bravely rescuing his daughter, but the nature of his injury was not revealed.

The sheriff went on to heap praise on the Disney Dream crew for their conduct during the high-stakes incident.

"The crew's 'man overboard' training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue," he continued.

"BSO investigators said the total time from the child’s accidental fall to the rescue was about 20 minutes. Once rescued, the father and daughter were checked out by the ship’s medical staff."

Sheriff Tony said his office released these details 'in response to misinformation' circulating about how the girl ended up in the ocean.

"This family is so blessed," he went on. "It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome."

Police are still gathering details and an investigation into the incident remains ongoing.