THE US Coast Guard suspended its search on Saturday for a Brazilian man who jumped onto a lifeboat on the side of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship before he plunged into the ocean near the Bahamas.
Officials said an airplane and helicopter crews had searched an area covering 931 square nautical miles northeast of Mayaguana.
Fellow passengers watched in horror on Friday as the man clung to the lifeboat on the giant Oasis of the Seas for more than a minute. It wasn’t clear why the man jumped toward the lifeboat.
Royal Caribbean and the Coast Guard said only that the 35-year-old man, from Brazil, was on the seventh deck of the massive Oasis of the Seas when he apparently jumped onto the life boat one deck below. The cruise line didn’t release his name. It said in a statement that it is supporting the man’s family.
A short video clip was briefly posted to YouTube but then taken down on Friday. It showed several people looking on, apparently trying to help as the man clings to the boat. One man screams, “Hold on to him, don’t let him go” and says he won’t go away until the man is back onboard. A woman tells everyone to stop yelling because people are trying to help him. The clinging passenger appears to look toward the deck in the seconds before he plunges into the water. The woman says she can see him in the water - “He’s there!” - and tells people to get a lifesaving flotation device to toss to him. “Throw it over!” she says. The video then ends.
It was unclear who took the video, but it appears to be shot from a higher deck.
The Oasis of the Seas sails to the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The ship left on October 31 on a seven-day trip.
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Comments
John 9 years ago
Is the Southern Bahamas going to get another wind lashing and drenching? . "Forecasters are eyeing an area of thunderstorms and low pressure just north of Turks and Caicos that could turn into a tropical depression over the next several days.
"At this time it looks likely [the system] would pass over the Bahamas, with strong winds on the north and east sides," said forecaster John Cangialosi at the National Hurricane Center.
"At this point it is not concerning [for South Florida}"
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John 9 years ago
The man who "jumped " off the cruise ship was married... To another man. He got into an argument with cruise staff who were anti-gay. Eventually the altercation with the cruise staff led to him being "dispatched " from the ship. His 'husband' was also harassed in their cabin by. security on the ship. Criminal charges and lawsuits may be forthcoming.
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