Earlier this month, a five-year-old girl fell off a Disney Cruise ship and into the Atlantic Ocean whilst journeying back from the Bahamas to Florida.
“The crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said at the time.
“We commend our crew members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”
Whilst the story did go viral, details of what happened in those moments leading up to the accident remained a mystery. Some witnesses claimed the girl’s father had been dangling her over the edge, but now the official police report has revealed the real cause.
Right, so why did the little girl fall off the cruise ship?
After the little girl fell off the Disney cruise ship and into the ocean below, her father jumped in to rescue her. They had drifted some distance before the rescue boats were deployed, but thankfully, both father and daughter were safely rescued approximately 20 minutes later.
According to the new police report, which was viewed by the MailOnline, the girl’s father had not set her on the railing of the cruise ship. He was also not dangling her over the edge, despite what some people claimed.
Instead, the police detailed how the little girl was sitting on a railing when she lost her balance and fell “backwards through a porthole.”
“After the girl’s mother alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that the girl’s mother was screaming, “she’s five and can’t swim.”
The police’s statement, in full
Credit: Facebook
As per LBC, the police wrote in their official report: “The incident occurred at approximately 11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 29, on deck 4 of a Disney cruise ship, while the ship was in international waters somewhere between the Bahamas and Port Everglades.
“Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives continue to investigate the moments before a 5-year-old girl lost her balance while sitting on a railing and falling backward through a porthole. After the girl’s mother alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter.
“BSO detectives said after the 37-year-old father found his daughter, he treaded water until they were rescued by a tender that was launched from the ship.
“The crew’s ‘man overboard’ training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue. BSO investigators said the total time from the child’s accidental fall to the rescue was about 20 minutes. Once rescued, the father and daughter were checked out by the ship’s medical staff.
“And after the ship arrived Monday morning at Port Everglades, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue transported them to an area hospital. The father was hospitalised. The family lives out of state. For the family’s continued privacy, detectives are not releasing their names, where they live, or the details of the father’s injury.”
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