World’s largest cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea

globalnews.ca:

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