A cruise ship pianist who spent about nine hours treading water in the Pacific Ocean was pulled to safety by two fishermen off the coast of California on Friday.
Sean Norton and Grant Garrett, both of Newport Beach, were heading home from a morning of marlin fishing near Catalina Island when the captain of their boat spotted a man in the water around midday, about 20 miles from the coast. The man told his rescuers he worked as a pianist aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas, a vessel with 14 decks. “The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,'” Norton said, according to reports.
The crew sent out an emergency maritime call, and Newport Beach lifeguards responded. The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition and is expected to survive, the US Coast Guard said, adding that it was investigating the incident. His identity has not been released.
Nine hours in warm water
Officials believe the man may have gone overboard at about 2.30am, roughly nine hours before he was found. One of the fishermen estimated the time in the water at closer to 10 hours. The Coast Guard said it had received a report from a good Samaritan who recovered a conscious individual from the water, and lifeguards confirmed he was an employee of the Ovation of the Seas.
Unusually warm ocean temperatures may have helped him survive, with the water at about 76 degrees Fahrenheit, or 24 degrees Celsius, according to reports. The man was conscious when he was pulled from the water, according to the Coast Guard, and he was able to tell his rescuers he worked as a pianist aboard the ship.
Investigation under way
The Coast Guard is investigating how the man came to be in the water, and Royal Caribbean said it was providing support and assistance to its crew member. “To respect the privacy of our employee, we have no additional details to share,” a company spokesperson said. Nothing published so far explains how he went overboard, and officials have described the time in the water as an estimate, not an established timeline.
Rescue missions also feature in space news, where NASA asks private firms to pitch a Hubble rescue before 2032, and in transport news, with an Austrian Airlines jet making an emergency landing in Bulgaria after a bomb threat.
The Coast Guard said its investigation would continue, and no further details about the man have been released.
