Dad and daughter were enjoying on Disney cruise when she fell overboard — his brave action changed her fate
Courage can turn a situation around completely. Passengers on a Disney Cruise Ship witnessed that when a dad immediately jumped into the water to save his daughter after she fell from the fourth deck of the ship. The man was trying to take a selfie with his daughter when the incident happened. Soon enough, a rescue took place to get both the dad and the daughter out of the water. The cruise was on its way back to South Florida, per CBS News.
The ship was sailing from the Bahamas and Fort Lauderdale when the incident happened. It was the last day of the cruise and the father treaded the water for more than 10 minutes to look for his daughter, according to the passengers who witnessed the incident. As soon as the emergency alarm went off, the crew quickly got into action and launched a rescue boat and placed life preservers in the water. The passengers were relieved to see the father and daughter safe and sound after the rescue. "The ship was moving quickly, so quickly, it's crazy how quickly the people became tiny dots in the sea and then you lost sight of them. The captain slowed the ship and turned it around and then they deployed a tender ship with people on it to go get them and we saw them rescue the dad and daughter," Laura Amador, a passenger on the ship, recounted.
The ship came to Port Everglades after sailing for four days, as per schedule. The father and daughter chose to remain anonymous. "It took everybody's breath away, to be honest with you. Very nerve-racking to say the least, but as a father, like I said, I would've done the same thing. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope I never get to see again," Eric Pabon, another passenger who witnessed the event, expressed. "Oh my God, that's a hero dad. He's a hero. He jumped in to save his child. He's a hero, he's a hero, that man is a hero," another passenger, Tracy Robinson-Hughes, explained. "I cried like a baby because I was worried. We were all worried."
A cruise expert, Amanda Berry, weighed in, "My reaction to that is obviously relief that a child was saved and that the father was also saved. But also at the same time, a lot of experienced cruisers have noticed, especially in the last two or three years, a lot of parents not closely monitoring their kids as much." She added, "Approximately only 17 to 25 percent of people survive once they go overboard, so the fact that both of them were found and rescued is honestly a testament to the Disney staff that was able to save them."
"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. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols," a Disney Line spokesperson said in a statement. "I saw the mother crying, but when they rescued them, I think that's when the tears really started flowing, because you were just so overjoyed knowing and I prayed to God to save them, and he did," Robin-Hughes, a passenger, shared. How the child fell overboard despite the plexiglas barriers on the ship is not known.