A Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger who tumbled overboard near the Mexico port of Cozumel last week was plucked from the ocean in a rescue that was captured on video that has recently surfaced.
The victim was a guest on the Oasis of the Seas, which was on a seven-night trip that left Port Everglades, Florida, on Jan. 3 with stops in Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico, a Royal Caribbean spokeswoman said. On Jan. 8, the 22-year-old man fell overboard and was spotted by the crew of a nearby cruise ship, which sent a rescue vessel to retrieve him. "We are grateful for the other ship's assistance," the spokeswoman said. She declined to identify the victim.
The operation was videotaped by David Hearn, a passenger on the second ship, the Disney Magic. Hearn told NBC News that he was in bed around 6:30 a.m. when he heard crew members call out "Mister Mob," which he knew as code for "man overboard."
He said he got dressed and headed to the upper deck, where he saw crew members lowering a lifeboat into the water. After rescuing the man, they brought him to an infirmary on the ship, then helped him into an ambulance when the ship reached dock. "He was in good shape, in good spirits," Hearn said. "Everybody was applauding."