“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.”
Travis Heggie, a professor at Bowling Green State University who is an expert in travel health and safety, said in an interview that the news was “a really cool story to wake up to”.
“We never hear of people getting rescued this fast,” he said.
The US Coast Guard is investigating, Petty Officer 1st Class Diana Sherbs said in an email, adding that “it’s unclear the extent of the investigation at this time”.
The cruise operator did not answer questions about the passengers’ ages or relationship, how far they fell or how they both ended up in the water. Disney did not provide details about the rescue beyond their statement.
“We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols,” the statement said.
Coleman-Wright said detectives will seek answers about how the child went overboard.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement for Port Everglades, where the ship arrived today NZT.
“This family is so blessed,” Coleman-Wright said. “It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome.”
Guests who watched the scene unfold appeared shocked to realise two people – and especially a child – had gone over the ship’s railings.
One video posted on TikTok shows a small vessel leave from the ship, which can carry 4000 passengers.
The smaller boat can be seen approaching two small dots bobbing in the water.
“I can’t tell, it looks like there are two heads,” says the person shooting the video.
Shortly afterwards, as the people get pulled into the rescue boat, she says: “Is it a kid? Is it a kid and an adult? It’s a kid and adult! How does that happen?” People start cheering.
As the boat returns to the ship, the man can be seen pumping his fist as people applaud. The image of the girl, sitting on a woman’s lap, is blurred out.
In the caption, the person who posted the video said their family was in their room when they heard an announcement of “Mr. MOB” for “man overboard”. The man kept the girl afloat for at least 20 minutes, the TikTok user wrote in the caption.
“We witnessed nothing short of a miracle,” the user wrote.
In a video shot from another angle, people cheer as the small boat approaches the people in the water.
Michael Winkleman, a lawyer who represents people suing cruise lines for injury or wrongful death, said the fall must have happened from a low deck.
“If it were a higher deck, the chances for survival are infinitesimally smaller,” he said.
The father and child on the Disney Dream were “very lucky”, Winkleman said, because the ship was able to put their rescue plan into action right away.
He said a significant number of overboard cases involve people who have overconsumed alcohol or jumped intentionally, and sometimes those falls have no witnesses.
A rescue at night would have been more difficult as well, he said.
“That’s literally like finding a needle in a haystack,” Winkleman said.
He said he isn’t aware of cases of multiple people going overboard, especially not a child followed by an adult. He discussed the case with colleagues who have been in the business for more than 50 years.
“Unprecedented,” he said.
