A Carnival cruise ship is conducting a search and rescue operation Wednesday night after a man jumped overboard, the company told USA TODAY.
“Carnival Horizon is currently conducting a search for a guest who jumped overboard from Deck 11 on Wednesday at approximately 7 p.m. ET,” Carnival said in a statement shared by spokesperson AnneMarie Mathews.
The incident occurred after the ship departed from Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos at 5 p.m., Carnival said in a statement shared by spokesperson AnneMarie Mathews.
“The ship’s command immediately began search and rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard,” Carnival said. “Carnival’s CARE team is providing support to the guest’s wife who was traveling with him.”
David Custer, a passenger onboard the ship which departed on a 6-day cruise from Miami Sunday, told USA TODAY that passengers were informed that camera footage confirmed a person went overboard.
“Our hearts sank when we heard the initial announcement,” Custer said. “We were at dinner and everyone ran to the closest windows. The cruise director made an announcement to confirm a man went overboard and asked anyone who may see someone in the water to immediately report it.”
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James Presley, another passenger on the ship, told USA TODAY on Wedneday night that immediately after the announcement was made, crew members threw life preservers with attached lights off the stern and port side of the ship. He posted a photo of one of the life preservers on Twitter.
After the announcement, Custer said he went to ship’s the top deck with “hundreds of others” to search the waters. “Since then, and with nightfall, the mood has changed on board. People are hoping for the best outcome and feel so helpless.”
Presley added that the ship was still circling the area around where the man was last seen around 10 p.m. and that spotlights were activated once daylight was gone.
According to CruiseMapper, the ship was sailing near the Turks and Caicos Islands just before 9:00 p.m. and is scheduled to be in the Mexican resort of Cozumel on Thursday.
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