US woman passenger falls overboard from 10th deck of cruise ship

A woman aboard one of Royal Caribbean cruise ships had a lucky escape after she fell down the 10th deck of the ship and into the water, roughly27 nautical miles south of Punta Cana in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday.

The 42-year-old unnamed passenger, a US resident, plunged into the water but managed to survive, following a dramatic hour-long rescue operation where the cruise ship 'Mariner of the Seas' rescue crew quickly jumped into service.

The crew quickly dispatched a small rescue boat and managed to locate the woman in the vast ocean and safely brought her back on board. The entire incident was caught on camera by the passengers who cheered the woman and the safety crew.

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According to reports, after the woman fell into the water, passengers used binoculars to help the ship's crew locate the woman.

"After we saw the life rafts or the life preservers and the smoke – I was like, someone just died," said Matthew Kuhn who was on the cruise with his family. and posted the live updates on Twitter

"I think it was amazing to see everyone was on their balcony. Everyone was trying to help, and the crew was very receptive to everyone."

Fortunately, the woman was unscathed as well and required no medical attention. Although, she was later brought to the hospital for a routine evaluation.

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The US Coast Guard confirmed the woman was safe and presented a brief of the entire incident.

"Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan received a report from the Cruise Ship Mariner of the Seas at approximately 5:44 pm Sunday that the ship’s crew had rescued a female passenger, 42, US citizen, who had gone overboard," read thestatement.

"The cruise ship was transiting approximately 27 nautical miles south of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic when the incident occurred and was en route to Willemstad, Curaçao."

Situation could have turned pear-shaped

While the woman was lucky to be alive, Cameron Robins, an 18-year-old boy from Louisiana did not have the same fate. Last month, the Robins jumped off a cruise ship on a dare during a high school graduation trip to the Bahamas.

He wascelebrating with students from University High Lab School in Baton Rouge when he fell from the Blackbeard’s Revenge sunset cruise at about 11.30 pm. After two days of intense search-and-rescue operations, the US Coast Guard ultimately suspended the search for the teenager.

A chilling video footage of the incident went viral where Robins can be seen splashing down before mysteriously disappearing moments later. Some netizens speculated that he may have been eaten by the sharks while others said he drowned in the strong current of the water.

(With inputs from agencies)

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