FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – More details have been revealed after a girl fell overboard on a Disney cruise ship over the weekend, prompting her father to leap into the water and rescue her.
In a release, the Broward Sheriff’s Office announced that the incident happened on Sunday around 11:30 a.m. while the ship was returning from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale.
According to detectives, the 5-year-old girl lost her balance while sitting on a railing at Deck 4, causing her to fall backward through a porthole.
“After the girl’s mother alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter,” the release reads.
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Investigators added that the 37-year-old father managed to tread water until they were rescued by a tender that was launched from the ship. In all, the rescue took around 20 minutes.
The ship arrived at Port Everglades by Monday morning, deputies said, though the father was ultimately hospitalized.
“The family lives out of state,” the release continues. “For the family’s continued privacy, detectives are not releasing their names, where they live, or the details of the father’s injury.”
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office also announced that detectives have reviewed the ship’s security video, which lines up with statements by the family and cruise ship staff.
“The investigation into this matter continues,” the release concludes. “This family is so blessed. It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome.”