A massive Carnival cruise ship turned around and rescued more than two dozen Cuban nationals after seeing them signaling from help from a small wooden boat.
The boat was adrift in bad condition with a makeshift sail when crew aboard the Carnival Paradise spotted it about 20 miles west of Cuba on Sunday, reported Fox News.
Cruise crew veered off their route from Tampa, Florida, to Roatan, Honduras, and pulled all 27 Cubans on board at roughly 2.30pm.
The Cubans were all examined by medics on board and provided with food.
Cruise staff notified the US Coast Guar Sector Key West.
Despite the detour, the cruise reached its port at Mahogany Bay in Roatan on time, stated Carnival. The cruise is set to make another stop to Cozumel, Mexico, on Tuesday before returning to Tampa on Thursday.
It was not immediately known if the Cuban nationals stayed or are staying on board until the cruise reaches Florida or whether they disembarked at a port.
Earlier this month, the US Coast Guard spotted another makeshift boat near the Key West shoreline and took in 16 migrants who were repatriated back to Cuba.
‘The Coast Guard’s primary mission is to preserve human life at sea,’ stated Coast Guard Seventh District Lt Matthew Miller. ‘The maritime environment is inherently dangerous. The Coast Guard and our HSTF-SE partners are committed to preventing unsafe voyages at sea and enforcing US immigration laws and regulations.
‘Do not take to the sea.’
The Carnival Paradise incident was not the only out-of-the-ordinary event involving a cruise ship recently.
Last week, a pregnant passenger aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship was airlifted by a US Coast Guard helicopter when she began experiencing medical complications. Drone footage showed a Coast Guard crew member being lowered down to the front of the cruise and securing the woman to a rescue basket. She was lifted up and brought into the chopper safely.
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