Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are learning more this morning about the extraordinary story of survival of a passenger who went overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico and somehow managed to stay afloat for hours before he was rescued. NBC’s Dana Griffin has new details.
Dana Griffin (00:16):
This morning. Many are wondering how this cruise ship passenger ended up in the Gulf of Mexico. He went missing from the Carnival Valor the day before Thanksgiving and was rescued more than 15 hours later. As video captured him, struggling to stay above water.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
He wasn’t going to make it much longer.
Dana Griffin (00:34):
Carnival says the passenger and his sister were at a bar located on deck four. Around 11:00 PM The 28 year old went to use the restroom and disappeared. A carnival spokesman tells NBC News, “I wouldn’t speculate what he might have been doing, but you can’t accidentally fall off the ship.”
Whitney Gaines (00:50):
No one knew what was going on.
Dana Griffin (00:52):
Fellow passenger, Whitney Gaines says she overheard a family member talking about what happened the next day at breakfast.
Whitney Gaines (00:58):
She was with him at a bar, but he kept getting in trouble because he was vaping and the different crew members were telling him he couldn’t vape in the bars. So at some point she loses track of him and he never returns.
Thomas Coyne (01:11):
It’s safe to say that he probably did something pretty stupid to wind up in the water
Dana Griffin (01:16):
Survival expert Thomas Coyne says, for people who survive extreme conditions, there usually is a motivating factor like family. And if you ever wind up in a similar situation, what would be your advice for surviving?
Thomas Coyne (01:29):
So my advice is to remain as calm as possible and remember what you have to live for. You have to time your breasts with the waves, with it up and down, the ebb and flow of the water. If you kick your hands, you kick your feet in a certain way and to catch you afloat a little more than the other, repeat that process.
Dana Griffin (01:46):
It could help keep you alive just like this Thanksgiving miracle on the water. Dana Griffin, NBC News.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
15 hours in the water. Dana, thanks so much.
Speaker 6 (01:58):
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