Cruise ship pianist survives nine hours in the Pacific before anglers rescue him
Two anglers rescued a cruise ship pianist off the California coast after he had spent about nine hours in the water following a fall overboard. He was taken to hospital and his condition is stable.
Two anglers in the Pacific Ocean, about 32 kilometres off the California coast, have rescued a cruise ship pianist who had been trying to stay afloat for around nine hours after falling overboard, BBC reports. The incident took place on Friday near Santa Catalina Island and shows how much the man's survival depended on being spotted by chance in open sea and on unusually warm water.
According to initial estimates from rescue services, the man went overboard from the cruise ship at about 2:30 a.m. The fishermen noticed him at around 11:30 a.m. One of them recalled realising that it was a person in the water and asking for the boat to be stopped and the fishing lines pulled in. The man was brought aboard.
The rescued man said he is a pianist working on the Royal Caribbean company's 14-deck cruise ship Ovation of the Seas. According to the other angler, he said only that he was grateful and had thought he would die.
Taken to hospital
The man was handed over to Newport Beach rescue service personnel and taken to hospital. The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that his condition is stable. His identity has not been released. Newport Beach rescue service spokesman Adam Yacenda said the man was roughly 24–32 kilometres from shore, effectively in the middle of the open ocean.
Warm water
One of the anglers believes the unusually high water temperature, about 24 degrees Celsius (76°F), helped him survive. He linked this to what he described as an extremely strong El Niño this year. Scientists say the El Niño climate phenomenon developing in the Pacific is the strongest on record, with ocean temperatures about 3.05 degrees above average.
Royal Caribbean Group has confirmed that the rescued man is its employee. In a statement, the company said it is supporting the crew member and, to respect his privacy, will not provide further details.
The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation to establish the circumstances in which the man fell from the cruise ship.
