Missing cruise passenger rescued after falling overboard

A man missing from a cruise ship was found and rescued in the water on Thanksgiving Day in the Gulf of Mexico.

The man fell overboard the Carnival Valor and was found responsive Thursday by US Coast Guard officials.

He was taken to paramedics at New Orleans Lakefront Airport the same day, Coast Guard Corporal Ryan Graves told CNN.

The man’s sister last saw him at a bar on board the cruise and said he went to the bathroom around 11pm on Wednesday, according to Carnival spokesman Matt Lupoli.

He did not return to the cabin and his sister reported him missing Thursday afternoon.

“Carnival Valor has retraced its route to aid in search and rescue,” Lupoli explained.

The ship left a port in New Orleans on Wednesday and called the Coast Guard about the missing man around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Several crews have been dispatched to search for him by sea and land, Lt. Phillip VanderWeit of the Coast Guard.

The crew of another ship saw the man and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifted the man onto the plane, according to VanderWeit.

A passenger on the cruise, Mike Anderson, said he heard announcements for the missing passenger to go to guest services. Anderson also told CNN he observed that security guards had a photo of the missing man on their phones and were running around looking for him.

Anderson added that the ship did not notify passengers that the man had disappeared, but began returning to the departure point around 2:00 p.m. Thursday. Ship officials said through the PA system that arrival in Cozumel, Mexico would be delayed.

Officials announced Thursday night that a man had gone overboard and the ship was no longer needed for search and rescue and would continue the voyage to Cozumel.

The man was rescued a month after Dilek Ertek, the owner of Tiffany’s, fell off the Norwegian Spirit while on vacation with her boyfriend in Tahiti.

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