Cruise Ship Pianist Rescued After About 9 Hours Adrift in the Pacific Off Catalina Island
Two fishermen from Newport Beach in Orange County, California, rescued a man who had been adrift in the Pacific Ocean for about nine hours off Catalina Island on Friday, November 6. The man told his rescuers that he worked as a pianist aboard Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.
According to KTLA and CBS Los Angeles, Sean Norton and Grant Garrett were returning from a morning of marlin fishing near Catalina Island when their boat's captain spotted a person in the water nearly 20 miles offshore around midday. The fishermen stopped their boat, reeled in their fishing lines and pulled the man aboard. He appeared to be in shock, and after regaining consciousness told them he was a crew member of the ship.
The fishing crew issued an emergency maritime call, and Newport Beach lifeguards responded. Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda said the rescue took place approximately 15 to 20 miles offshore, in the middle of the ocean. Authorities believe the man had been in the water for about nine hours before he was found.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the man was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive, and that the Coast Guard is investigating the incident. How he went overboard remains unclear, and his name has not been released.
Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement to People magazine that it is providing support and assistance to the crew member during this difficult time, and that it had no additional details to share out of respect for the employee's privacy.
(Source: U.S. Coast Guard)
Source: U.S. Coast Guard
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：皇家加勒比邮轮 Ovation of the Seas 资料图，非事发画面。（Frans Berkelaar 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0）
