Cruise passenger rescued by helicopter after going overboard off Louisiana coast
NEW ORLEANS – Rescuers fished a cruise ship passenger out of the Gulf of Mexico on Thanksgiving Day after he went missing in the water for hours.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the passenger was reported missing from the Carnival Valor around 2:30 p.m.
An alert went out to all mariners in the gulf, and the Coast Guard “launched all available resources,” Lt. Seth Gross, a search and rescue coordinator for the USCG told CNN on Friday morning.
That included a small boat from Venice, Florida, a helicopter based in New Orleans and airplanes from Clearwater, Fla., and Mobile, Ala., he said.
The search extended more than 200 miles in the gulf, Gross said, adding the water temperature there Thursday night was just above 70 degrees — and somewhat colder in the Mississippi River.
The 28-year-old man was found around 8:25 p.m. and airlifted out of the water.
Officials believe the man may have fallen overboard sometime Wednesday night.
He was taken to a hospital in New Orleans where he was said to be in stable condition.
Back aboard the Carnival Valor, an announcement Thursday evening over the PA system informed guests there had been a man-overboard incident. The ship resumed a course for Cozumel, Mexico.
Cruise passenger rescued by helicopter after going overboard off Louisiana coast
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