Father jumps from Disney Cruise Line ship Disney Dream after young daughter goes overboard

Two passengers went overboard from a Disney Cruise Line ship on Sunday as the vessel departed the Bahamas and were rescued by the ship’s crew, according to Disney.

According to multiple reports, a young girl fell overboard from Disney Dream while the ship was sailing from the Bahamas, with her father jumping into the water immediately after to save her.

It was not clear what caused the young passenger to fall. She was reportedly on the ship’s Deck 4 promenade at the time of the incident, which has Perspex safety glass in addition to the ship’s railing to prevent passengers falling overboard.

Several passengers recorded videos of the daytime rescue. The ship launched one of its bright yellow tenders to retrieve the passengers from the sea.

“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 in a statement. “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”

The 4,000-passenger Disney Dream was on a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale and returned to port as scheduled on Monday morning.

The vessel is equipped with overboard detection systems designed to alert the ship’s crew to incidents in real-time, although Disney Cruise Line has not confirmed whether the system was activated by the emergency.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the navy of the Bahamas, was notified about the rescue and monitored it “until it was under control,” a spokesman, Lieutenant Darius Adams, said in an email to the New York Times.

“The cruise ship was able to deploy its own assets to conduct the rescue at sea,” Lt. Adams said.

It is rare for passengers to fall overboard from cruise ships, especially by accident.

In 2019, the most recent year data is available, 25 people out of 29 million passengers fell overboard, according to a Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) report, with nine of them subsequently rescued.

A passenger last went overboard from Disney Dream on May 4^th, 2017, also while cruising from the Bahamas. That passenger was also saved by the ship’s crew, according to Cruise Mapper.