Man Jumps Overboard Carnival Cruise Ship In Another Passenger Incident This Year

A passenger onboard a Carnival Cruise (CCL) ship jumped from the vessel over the weekend, forcing a search by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The unidentified man, 43, went overboard early Saturday morning from the Mardi Gras cruise ship as it was returning to Port Canaveral, Florida, amid a Caribbean sailing, Business Insider reported.

In a statement to the news outlet, a Carnival Cruise spokesperson said, “The ship's crew participated in search and rescue efforts until the ship was released by the U.S. Coast Guard, which continues the search. The Carnival Care Team is supporting the guest's family. Mardi Gras departed on her next cruise as scheduled.”

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his family," Carnival Cruise added.

According to WOFL, a Fox affiliate out of Lake Mary, Florida, the ship’s crew began an immediate search and rescue effort to locate the man but were unable to find him when the U.S. Coast Guard took over.

Public Affairs Specialist David Micallef from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector of Jacksonville, Florida, told Fox News that the Coast Guard dispatched air and water equipment immediately as part of its search efforts.

The man jumped about 55 miles east of Port Canaveral, Fox News said.

This is not the first time this year that a passenger has jumped from a Carnival Cruise ship. In February, a 32-year-old woman jumped from the 10th floor of the Valor ship during a sailing to Mexico, also prompting a search for the passenger by the Coast Guard, which was called off after 14 hours.

In a separate incident this year, a man jumped from a Carnival Horizon cruise ship in March that had departed Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, on its way to Cozumel, Mexico. The man’s body was later recovered by officials.

As of Monday premarket hours, shares of Carnival Cruise were trading at $19.52, down 4 cents or 0.20%.