Coast Guard Intensifies Search After Man Jumps Off Cruise Ship In Gulf Of Mexico

The Coast Guard began a search for a man who jumped overboard from a Carnival cruise ship 50 miles off the Texas coast.

The 26-year-old man, who is yet to be identified, was seen jumping from the ship, Carnival Dream, at 8:45 pm on Thursday.

After being notified, the US Coast Guard responded by immediately deploying more than 10 of its personnel. After midnight, they sent a search-and-rescue cutter to assist initial efforts to recover the man.

A helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft crewed by divers and rescue equipment, including hoists to lift a person from the water, was also deployed.

Darrell Byer, a fellow passenger onboard the vessel, claimed they kept calling out a name over the intercom, and that is when they said they have a man overboard.

A video shot by Byer showed a searchlight covering very choppy water. Byer himself reiterated how the rescuers tried to get a glimpse of the man though there very rough seas.

Other footage taken shows passengers looking over the edge of the ship into the sea, trying to see if they could spot the lost man.

Carnival Dream is a 14-deck vessel, capable of accommodating more than 3600 passengers in more than 1,800 cabins.

Carnival Dream began its four-day cruise from Galveston at 3:30 pm on Thursday for Cozumel, Mexico.

The ship released a statement saying, based on the footage available, it seemed the guest jumped from his stateroom balcony.

Carnival told media outlets, the ship immediately went back to the area where the incident had taken place to begin search and rescue protocol, while the onboard care team said they began assisting the guest’s family.

It is not the first time this has happened on Carnival cruises in recent history, though.

Two men were reported overboard from Carnival cruises within days of one another in December 2018.

Luke Renner, an autistic man from Georgia, was traveling to Mexico onboard the Carnival Fantasy as part of a firm that works with disabled adults.

He then climbed over a rail and jumped into the water. His remains have never been found since the incident.

The ship claimed Renner might have had the mistaken perspective he was going into a swimming pool.

Days earlier, Thomas McElhany, 26, jumped from Carnival Victory near the Florida Keys as the ship was going back to its homeport in Miami.

Following a 32 hour search covering thousands of miles, the Coast Guard called off the search.