Disney cruise rescues passenger who fell overboard from Royal Caribbean liner

22-year-old had been a guest on Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas
Spotted in the water by crew aboard Disney Magic vessel later in the day
A lifeboat was dispatch to rescue the passenger near Cozumel, Mexico
Questions raised over cruise ship passenger detection technology

Simon Cable for MailOnline

Published:
04:56 EST, 13 January 2015

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Updated:
09:12 EST, 13 January 2015

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A passenger who went overboard during a luxury cruise was rescued by a passing Disney liner.

The 22-year-old, who had been a guest on Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas, was only spotted in the water by the eagle-eyed passengers and crew of the Disney Magic vessel as it passed by later in the day.

The incident happened on Thursday morning as the Magic was approaching Cozumel off the coast of Mexico.

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The passenger can be seen on the far left of the picture as the rescue vessel approaches

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said the ‘22-year-old male guest from Oasis of the Seas (pictured) went overboard near Cozumel, Mexico

It is not yet known how the passenger came to be in the water.

However, the incident is raising questions over whether cruise ships have the proper technology to detect when someone goes overboard.

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Disney has credited a combination of passengers and crew from the Magic with spotting the man in the water, lowering a lifeboat, and getting him aboard the Magic.

The man was immediately transported to shore for treatment.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said the ‘22-year-old male guest from Oasis of the Seas went overboard near Cozumel, Mexico.

‘He was spotted by a crew member from another cruise ship, and picked up. We are grateful for the other ship’s assistance.’

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the cruise line has not yet provided additional comment, beyond its statement.

Scott Sanders, founder of The Disney Cruise Line Blog, said such a rescue at sea by the Magic crew is unusual.

The rescue mission was launched by Disney Magic after passengers and crew spotted someone bobbing in the water

‘It’s pretty darn fortunate that they were sailing in the vicinity,’ said Sanders, whose blog is not affiliated with Disney.

Jim Walker, a maritime attorney who reported on the incident on his Cruise Law News website, said the case points out the need for cruise ships to have better monitoring systems for detecting when someone falls off or jumps from a ship.

He said systems he would support include motion sensors and thermal detection systems that would indicate if someone goes overboard.

After the dramatic rescue, the 22-year-old was immediately taken to shore for traetement

He also favours linking such systems to an alarm notification for crew so that an immediate search-and-rescue operation could begin.

The Oasis of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship, with a capacity of 6,360. The ship — which is based at Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale — was on a seven-night cruise to the Western Caribbean when the incident occurred.

The vessel has the capacity to house 5,400 passengers and 2,394 crew. It cost £800m and took three years to build in Turku, Finland before it was launched in 2009.

At 1,187ft, the Oasis of the Seas is longer than the Shard and wider than Boeing 747.