Monday, March 26, 2007

A Couple Fell 60 Feet Off a Cruise Ship in Gulf of Mexico

A man and a woman fell overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, but both were rescued after a four-hour search and appeared to be in good condition, a cruise line spokeswoman said.

The 22-year-old man and 20-year-old woman fell 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 meters) from a cabin balcony, said Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises.

She said the cruise line did not know how they fell overboard. Their ship, Princess Cruise's Grand Princess, was about 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the coast of Galveston, Texas, at the time.

The captain turned the ship around after friends of the man and woman notified the crew at about 1:30 a.m. CDT (0630 GMT) that they had gone overboard, Benson said. The ship's crew used high-powered spotlights and rescue boats in the search. One passenger was rescued by the ship's boats at 5:30 a.m. (1030 GMT) and the other at 6 a.m. (1100 GMT), according to a statement by the cruise line.

The search was aided by the Coast Guard, said Lt. j.g. Jillian Lamb at the District 8 Command Center. A nearby cruise ship also offered assistance, she said.

The man and woman, whom the cruise line declined to name, were examined by the ship's medical staff.

"They appear to be in satisfactory condition and we hope that no further medical attention will be needed,'' Benson said.

Grand Princess was carrying 2,783 passengers on a seven-day tour of the western Caribbean.




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