The woman being praised on social media for comforting the 5-year-old girl who fell overboard from a Disney cruise has been identified by her “proud little sister” as the ship’s head doctor.
Alyssa Charles, a South African lead physician on the Disney Dream cruise liner, was spotted cradling the little girl just moments after the youngster was pulled to safety in the dramatic caught-on-camera rescue last Sunday, the Daily Mail reported.
Her sister Jasmine, 28, heaped praise on the physician in the aftermath, sharing a now-viral clip of the rescue with the caption: “That’s my sister! Doctor on the rescue boat!”
“My sister is the head doctor that was in the boat! I am so emotional watching this and I am such a proud little sister!”
Charles is a pediatric and emergency care specialist who has worked for Disney Cruise Line since August last year, the Mail said.
She was there to comfort the little girl, who slipped through the ship’s porthole and plummeted into the ocean as the vessel made its way back to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas.
The girl’s 37-year-old father immediately dove into the water and grabbed his daughter — with the pair treading water for roughly 20 minutes until rescue crews were able to reach them.
Jasmine was then seen tenderly comforting the girl once she was pulled safely onto a rescue boat.
The father-daughter duo were treated onboard before being taken to a local hospital after returning to port.
It comes after cops dispelled rumors that were circulating online that the heroic dad had been holding his daughter over the railing at the time.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office credited the rescue crew’s fast response for saving the duo.
“Based on media reports I have read, the Disney crew was well prepared. Clearly, their training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue,” a statement from the sheriff’s office said.
“It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome.”
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