A fearless father jumped off a Disney cruise ship when his daughter fell overboard — miraculously getting hold of her and then treading water for around 20 minutes before they were both rescued.
The Disney Dream was heading from Florida to the Bahamas on Sunday when an alert suddenly announced loudly, “Mr MOB… port side,” referring to “man overboard,” video of the drama show.
“A girl fell overboard from the 4th deck & her dad went in after her,” fellow passenger Kevin Furuta posted on Facebook.
Other vacationers watched in horror as a bright yellow rescue boat was lowered into the water to where the dad and daughter were seen bobbing in the Atlantic, drifting ever further from the cruise ship.
The dad spent around 20 minutes in the sea holding his daughter — who appeared to be about 5 — before they were both pulled to safety, according to some of the online posts.
“Lots of praying folks on this ship!” posted another passenger, Dewayne Smith, who also reported that the “little girl fell overboard and her dad jumped overboard to try to save her.”
“Both the little girl and dad were both successfully rescued.”
It was not immediately clear how the girl first fell.
Disney Cruise Line confirmed that its crew “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,” a spokesperson told USA TODAY.
“We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”
Disney cruise liners each are equipped with an overboard detection system which alerts the ship’s crew to people tumbling from the ship into the sea in real time.
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