Fourteen people clinging to a small boat adrift in the Gulf of Mexico were rescued by the crew of the world’s largest cruise ship on Sunday after spending more than a week stranded at sea.
The Icon of the Seas, operated by the Royal Caribbean Group, encountered a small vessel in distress and “immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people on board,” the company states.
“The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard,” Royal Caribbean added.
The cruise ship was only on its first full day of sailing when it spotted the small boat. The cruise began in Miami and was headed towards Honduras when the rescue occurred.
Details about the rescued individuals are still scant. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard told Newsweek that the rescue occurred outside American waters, in Mexico’s area of jurisdiction.
A passenger on board the cruise, Alessandra Amodio, described to Fox Weather and People what she witnessed of the dramatic rescue.
The Travel + Leisure photo editor said she heard the ship’s crew broadcast “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar,” over the loudspeakers around 3 p.m. Sunday. From the windows looking out from the lunch buffet, she and her family could make out a tiny vessel in the distance. The people on board the boat were waving a large white flag.
“We were really surprised and honestly a little freaked out,” Amodio said. “We’ve been on a handful of cruises and never seen something like this happen.”
The cruise ship turned around to pull up delicately beside the small vessel. This manoeuvre took about two hours, Amodio recalls, as the ship’s crew worked to avoid swamping the small boat in the large cruise ship’s wake.
The Icon of the Seas then “deployed a small zodiac-type rescue boat to investigate,” Amodio said. Zodiac is a brand name known for its inflatable motor boats.
“Eventually we saw Royal Caribbean crew helping about two people from the distressed boat onto the rescue boat before returning to the vessel. They then made a few more trips to safely bring everyone on board,” Amodio said.
“Everyone around us was watching from the windows with us and just talking about how this isn’t something we ever thought to experience, and we hoped everyone on board was OK,” she said. “It was crazy to think that these people were stuck at sea for so long, and we were all on board excited and relieved that the ship was able to rescue them.”
After the rescue, Amodio said the cruise ship’s captain came over the loudspeakers to report the crew had rescued 14 people who had been stranded at sea for eight days.
The rescued people were dropped off in Roatan, Honduras, the day after the rescue, Amodio adds.
“We weren’t told by the captain or crew what happened to them,” she said.
The Icon of the Seas is considered the current largest cruise ship in the world. The 20-deck vessel includes eight “neighbourhoods” to explore and can accommodate 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew.
The so-called neighbourhoods are designed to cater to every type of vacationer, the company says, with areas for young families and adult-only areas.
Attractions on the ship are meant to mimic various land vacation experiences, with a six-slide waterpark, seven full-size pools, an indoor aquatic theatre and more.
— with files from Global News’ Michelle Butterfield