‘Horrific': Little girl and father fall off cruise ship from fourth floor deck
The child sat on the rail of the Disney Dream cruise ship while the father was taking a picture on Sunday, according to passenger Gar Frantz, who said he was on the fourth floor deck at the time of the incident.
Then the child fell overboard, Frantz said.
'We watched it, you could see two little things ... it was crazy, it was horrific,' Frantz said about seeing the father and child in the water.
Passenger Gail Merrick said she was playing bingo aboard the cruise ship, which was travelling from Florida to the Bahamas and back, when she noticed a commotion on the deck.
Merrick said she saw a yellow boat with crew members on it attempting what she was told was a rescue.
'We came to find out that it was a child and then the father had gone in after the child, so we were watching with bated breath basically waiting for what would happen,' Merrick told NBC News.
Merrick said the ship turned around following the incident and the crew seemed to quickly find the father and child, prompting an announcement of the rescue.
In a statement, Disney said the crew aboard the Disney Dream 'swiftly rescued two guests from the water'.
'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,' Disney said. 'We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.
Disney did not share any details about the incident or identifying information about the two people who went overboard. It is not clear where the ship was when the father and child went overboard, or how many days the cruise had been travelling.
The US Coast Guard did not respond to a request for comment.
James Tackett said he felt the ship make a really sharp turn and was told by someone that a little girl fell off the boat and her father jumped in to save her.
'When they did officially get the people, everyone cheered,' Tackett said. 'It was a good moment.'
Brenda Tackett, James' mother, said when she heard that two people had fallen overboard, she texted her two children who were on the cruise to get in touch with her. The ship's crew handled the incident really well, she said.
'The Disney Cruise Line staff were phenomenal, the crew, everybody was on it,' Brenda Tackett said. 'You could tell they've practiced this, hopefully have never used it before but they were great. The whole thing was maybe 10, 15 minutes and they safely got back on board.
According to Merrick, after the rescue, the cruise continued.
'Thankfully it turned out positive and we were able to enjoy the rest of the cruise,' Merrick said.
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