Coast Guard searches for man, 43, who jumped overboard on a Carnival Cruise ship headed for Florida

Coast Guard searches for man, 43, who jumped overboard on a Carnival Cruise ship headed for Florida

  • The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a 43-year-old man who jumped overboard on Carnival Crusie’s Mardis Gras ship on Saturday as it was headed for Florida 
  • The Coast guard sent two cutters and an airplane to look for the man, with the Mardis Gras and cruise ship Elation helping in the preliminary search 
  • Officials said the man was traveling with his family when he went overboard just after midnight, with still no sign of him to be found 
  • Passengers aboard the cruise believed the incident was just a joke until they saw the ships security arrive to search for the man and call the Coast Guard 

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a man who jumped overboard from a Carnival Cruise ship early Saturday as it approached Florida.

The man jumped from the Carnival Cruise Lines’ Mardi Gras ship just after midnight about 55 miles east of Port Canaveral, according to the Coast Guard and Carnival.

The Coast Guard responded with two cutters and an airplane to search for the missing man, with Coast Guard spokesman David Micallef adding that The Mardi Gras and the cruise ship Elation also participated in the search.

Carnival spokesman Matt Lupol said the Coast Guard released the Mardi Gras from the search efforts and it continued to Port Canaveral. It will continue sailing as scheduled. 

‘The ship’s crew participated in search and rescue efforts until the ship was released by the U.S. Coast Guard, which continues the search,’ Lupoli said. ‘The Carnival Care Team is supporting the guest’s family. 

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his family.’

A man jumped overboard Carnival Cruise’s Mardi Gras ship (pictured) on Saturday, just after midnight, triggering a search by the U.S. Coast Guard near Port Canaveral

Officials said the man was traveling with his family when he went overboard off the deckside just after midnight, with still no sign of him to be found

Officials said the man was traveling with his family when he went overboard off the deckside just after midnight, with still no sign of him to be found

A passenger who was on the boat at the time of the incident told TMZ that she had heard passengers screaming that someone had gone overboard. 

The passengers added that many believed it was a joke until the ship’s security began the frantic search for the man.  

The Coast Guard was alerted and the search has been on for more than 12 hours, but the man has yet to be located. 

The incident comes nearly two months after a 32-year-old woman jumped off the Carnival Valor ship and vanished into the Gulf of Wednesday. 

The footage shows three security guards on the Carnival Valor holding the apparently frantic woman's arms behind her back

The footage shows three security guards on the Carnival Valor holding the apparently frantic woman’s arms behind her back

Shocked passengers are seen rushing to the edge of ship

Shocked passengers are seen rushing to the edge of ship

The woman was traveling on the Carnival Valor with her husband on a five-day cruise to Mexico that departed New Orleans on February 17 when she suddenly began panicking on deck, Fox 8 reported.  

The footage prior to the jump shows three security guards on the Carnival Valor holding the apparently frantic woman’s arms behind her back as they escorted her out of the pool deck. 

Passengers said the woman then broke free and jumped off the tenth floor of the ship into the ocean.  

The Coast Guard has since suspended its search for the woman. 

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