Man Jumps Off Carnival Cruise Ship, Search and Rescue Underway

(Updated 10:42 p.m. ET) The captain of Carnival Horizon confirmed that the US Coast Guard has recovered the body and the guest is deceased. The ship has been cleared by the Coast Guard to resume its course.

A guest sailing on Carnival Horizon jumped overboard on Wednesday evening as the ship was sailing away from Grand Turk.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Osborne Blalock

A passenger aboard the ship reached out to Cruise Radio, saying “The captain just confirmed that the security cameras caught a man overboard today at 19:10 on our cruise on the Carnival Horizon,” they said. “We have been searching for an hour.”

Carnival Confirms Man Overboard

A spokesperson for the cruise line said, “Carnival Horizon is currently conducting a search for a guest who jumped overboard from Deck 11 on Wednesday at approximately 7 p.m. ET. The ship had departed Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands, at 5 p.m. ET.”

The statement went on to say, “The ship’s command immediately began search-and-rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard. Carnival’s CARE team is providing support to the guest’s wife who was traveling with him.”

As of 10:00 p.m. ET, Carnival Horizon was still circling the area in an attempt to locate the man, but he remains missing.

Photo Credit: Lisa Osborne Blalock

Just after the passenger was reported as having gone overboard, the ship’s cruise director got on the public address system to inform the guests what was going on.

He said, “A suspected man overboard situation has been reported, we will be returning to the area in an attempt to assist in search and rescue activities. If you see the missing person, please contact guest services immediately.”

Third Incident in Four Months

In the past four months, three guests have jumped from Carnival cruise ships. In mid-December, a woman jumped off Carnival Miracle off the coast of Mexico, and last month a woman jumped off Carnival Valor on its way back to New Orleans. Neither of the two guests were found and the U.S. Coast Guard eventually called off the search.

Carnival Horizon is currently sailing a six-night eastern Caribbean voyage that left PortMiami on Sunday, March 13, and returning to Florida on Saturday.

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