The U.S. Coast Guard who had been searching for a 26-year-old man who had gone overboard while on a Carnival cruise ship in Galveston, Texas, on the evening of Oct. 24, have decided to call off the search, according to multiple reports.
In an earlier report of the incident, the Carnival Dream was departing from Texas on a four-day trip when the 26-year-old jumped overboard according to the statement given by Carnival, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
“Based on camera footage, it appears the guest jumped from his stateroom balcony,” the statement said. According to Fox 5 San Diego, the ship and other Carnival vessels began their search and rescue procedures immediately after receiving news of the incident.
In addition, KPRC reported that the cruise company issued a statement on Oct. 24, which read, “Thursday evening, a guest went overboard from Carnival Dream while the ship was sailing from Galveston. Based on camera footage, it appears the guest jumped from his stateroom balcony. The ship’s command promptly began search and rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which is sending a helicopter to assist in the search. The onboard CareTeam is assisting the guest’s family.”
According to Fox 5 San Diego, at around 8:45 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard received a report of a man who jumped off the cruise ship. Immediately, a marine information broadcast was issued and a helicopter crew went out to search for the 26-year-old man, the Coast Guard said.
The New York Post reported that a fellow guest onboard the Carnival Dream, Darell Byer, took a video of the Coast Guard searching for the 26-year-old.
“We got a pretty sad situation out here right now. A man overboard. We turned the ship around, and we’re in a search pattern right now. I didn’t know the passenger. [I have a] good idea who it was. They were calling the name out for quite a while, several times,” Byer said, according to New York Post.
According to KPRC, Carnival called off the search after days of searching for the man due to weather conditions.
“With our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of this young man, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our search. We would like to thank the three good Samaritans vessels, along with our crews, who faced extreme weather conditions during the search due to Tropical Storm Olga. At the height of the storm, search crews endured winds up to 35 mph, 12 foot seas and incredibly low visibility,” said Caren Damon, the Lieutenant Commander and coordinator of the search and rescue mission at the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston.
