Two rescued after fall from cruise ship

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Treading water for 4 hours without a life preserver is quite a feat. It was lucky they were young or they would have drowned.

2 rescued after fall from ship in Gulf

By MIKE GLENN

2007 Houston Chronicle

A couple who plummeted into the Gulf of Mexico from a balcony of their cruise ship early Sunday will be aboard today when the vessel arrives at its first port of call.

The man, 22, and woman, 20, fell overboard about 1:30 a.m. while the Grand Princess was about 150 miles off the coast of Galveston, said officials with the California-based Princess Cruises. The balcony in the woman's cabin was about 50 to 60 feet above the water, a cruise line spokeswoman said.

When the two were reported overboard, the ship stopped and returned to their last known position. Rescue boats from the Grand Princess were launched to begin a search.

The U.S. Coast Guard was called in to join the effort. "We work with them very closely," Princess Cruises spokeswoman Julie Benson said.

The captain also alerted other merchant ships in the area about the missing couple.

"There were quite a few who stood by and were there to assist as needed," Benson said. "But, in the end, the crew of the Grand Princess actually ended up spotting them."

The couple, who are not married and did not come aboard together, spent about four hours in the water before being rescued. One was found about 5:30 a.m. The second was discovered 30 minutes later, officials said.

On Sunday, Princess Cruises declined to identify the couple, who suffered only minor injuries from their ordeal. The woman is expected to leave the ship in Costa Maya, Mexico, to seek further medical attention, Benson said.

The man, who was wearing no clothes when he was pulled from the Gulf waters, was released to his cabin Sunday night, Benson said.

Cruise line officials will investigate how the man and woman managed to fall from the ship. Both were cooperating with investigators, Benson said.

"We do believe it was an accident, (but) clearly, we'll be looking at everything," Benson said. "It is extremely difficult to go off of a cruise ship. The industry carries 10 million passengers a year. This is not an average occurrence."

She said all passengers are given safety instructions before the ship leaves port, adding that they are instructed that it is inadvisable to sit or lean on the balcony rails.

Benson said the railing around the cabin balcony is at least 4 feet high and meets all standard safety requirements.

"What we're looking at is how they went over," she said. "That's all part of the investigation."

The couple fell overboard about eight hours after the Grand Princess left Galveston for the start of a seven-day tour of the western Caribbean, with planned stops in Mexico, Honduras and Belize. It is expected to arrive in Costa Maya, Mexico about 10 a.m. today.

Benson said she didn't know if the two planned to cut short their trip.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ro/4660546.html