“The only thing he said to me was: ‘Thank you. I thought I was going to die.'”
A 37-year-old cruise ship pianist was rescued in the Pacific Ocean after falling overboard and drifting for roughly nine hours, De Telegraaf reported. The musician, who worked on the 14-deck vessel Ovation of the Seas, went over the side during the night approximately 30 kilometers off the California coast.
The rescue unfolded as two fishermen, Sean Norton and Grant Garrett, were returning from a marlin-fishing trip near Catalina Island, according to Nieuwsblad. The boat’s captain spotted something unusual in the water.
“I thought: yeah, that’s a human. Stop the boat, pull all our lines in,” Garrett told CBS News, as reported by Nieuwsblad. The fishermen pulled the exhausted man onto their vessel around midday, bringing an end to an ordeal that authorities estimate lasted about nine hours.
Cruise ship pianist falls into ocean, rescued after 9 hours: ‘El Niño saved his life’ Ovation of the Seas crew member was found nearly 20 miles off California after spending the night in the Pacific; fisherman credits unusually war…https://t.co/M73ayY2cLI pic.twitter.com/cm2zPWqYRe
The pianist survived the lengthy drift largely due to unusual ocean temperatures. Norton pointed to the El Niño weather phenomenon as a decisive factor in the rescue, according to Nieuwsblad.
“The water was 76 degrees,” Norton told CBS News, placing the temperature at roughly 24 degrees Celsius. Following the rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard transported the musician to a hospital, where he is expected to survive the incident.
The Ovation of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean, was traveling from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico, when the incident occurred, according to NOS. How the 37-year-old musician managed to fall from the massive vessel remains unclear.
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the circumstances surrounding the fall. A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean confirmed the event to CBS News, stating that the company is providing support to the crew member while declining to share further details out of respect for employee privacy.
How far from land was the pianist found?
Rescuers found the man approximately 30 to 32 kilometers off the coast of California, near Newport Beach.
Which cruise ship employed the pianist?
The musician worked aboard the Ovation of the Seas, a 14-deck vessel operated by Royal Caribbean.
What condition was the musician in after the rescue?
After being pulled aboard the fishing boat, the man was taken to a hospital by the U.S. Coast Guard and is expected to survive.
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