Girl falls into the sea during a cruise – father jumps in after her
A young girl fell from the fourth deck of the Disney Dream cruise ship into the Atlantic Ocean. Her father didn't hesitate for a moment and rescued her.
Shocked passengers watched in horror on Sunday as a young girl fell from the fourth deck of a Disney cruise ship into the Atlantic Ocean.
The horrific moment occurred on board the $900 million (approximately €768 million) Disney Dream as the ship returned to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas, the Daily Mail reports.
The girl's father jumped in to save his daughter. The incident immediately triggered a rescue operation: Disney crew members launched a lifeboat. Despite the dramatic circumstances, the father remained calm and held the girl safely for almost 20 minutes until the lifeboat reached her.
"Immediately after the incident, we heard over the loudspeaker: MOB port side!! Fortunately, the DCL rescue team was immediately on the scene and both were rescued!" wrote one passenger on Facebook in the Disney Dream Cruise Ship group .
“We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident underscores the effectiveness of our safety protocols,” Disney Cruise Line said in a statement.
It is unclear how the girl fell overboard.
Passengers falling from a cruise ship into the water happen from time to time. Such an incident occurred on the maiden voyage of the cruise ship "Icon of the Seas ." A man jumped into the sea and died despite immediate rescue efforts. The ship, which can accommodate over 7,600 passengers, was en route from Florida to Honduras.
The New York Post reports that the US Coast Guard brought the man back on board, but doctors could not save him.
- Over 31 million passengers worldwide : According to Statista, around 31.7 million people took a cruise in 2023. North America led the statistics with 18.1 million passengers. Europe counted around 8.2 million cruise passengers. Interestingly, around 3.7 million German passengers also opted for a voyage on the high seas.
- Rising revenue and passenger numbers expected : Statista forecasts a revenue volume of approximately €40.447 billion in the cruise market for 2025. This is expected to rise to €48.712 billion by 2029. At the same time, the number of cruise passengers is expected to rise to 46.565 million.
- Royal Caribbean dominates the market : In 2024, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line will have the largest market share with approximately 13 percent of total revenue, reports Business Insider. The group generated total revenue of $16.5 billion. Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line followed with market shares of 9.5 percent each.
- Hamburg remains Germany's leading cruise port : With more than 1.2 million passengers cruising from Hamburg in 2023, the Hanseatic city set a new record. These figures, published by the Hamburg Port Authority, underscore the port's importance as a central cruise hub in Germany.
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