The lucky man, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, had been in the water for about five hours during last Thursday’s ordeal, Rodriguez said.
“At 7:31 a.m. a passenger aboard Disney Magic reported a man in the water. The passenger had thrown multiple lifesavers in the water to help him,” said Rodriguez. “They rescued him and gave him medical attention.”
The man was taken to a local hospital and was in good condition before he was flown back to the United States, Rodriguez said.
“This man was reborn. Most people that experience that kind of fall break their neck. It’s like hitting concrete,” he said.
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Unlike this incident, Walker said, the problem with most man overboard cases is that the person is never found and the case goes unsolved.
“There are some people who commit suicide,” he said. “The suicides are easily detected because the person leaves a message or doesn’t bring any luggage onto the ship, or they sell their homes, et cetera. But there are a whole group of cases that don’t fall on the suicide pattern. There are other cases which we suspect are a result of foul play.”
A website that tracks man overboard cases, CruiseJunkie.com, listed 243 cases since 1995.
