Support NeoGAF

[Wag]

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/13/us/man-overboard-cruise-rescue/

(CNN)A man who fell from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, was rescued by a Disney cruise ship after passengers spotted him on the water, Mexican authorities say.

"The man was traveling in the Oasis (of the Seas). It was early in the morning. He doesn't remember how he fell. Fortunately, another cruise, the Disney Magic, saw him," said Cozumel Port Captain Alfonso Rodríguez.

The lucky man, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, had been in the water for about five hours during last Thursday's ordeal, Rodriguez said.

Holy shit. This guy has one hell of a story to tell. I don't know if he's the luckiest or unluckiest man alive. The fact that he probably fell 21 stories off the top deck of the first ship and survived is amazing, and then the second cruise ship chances upon him in the open ocean is doubly so.

 

[Taco_Human]

If I were him I'd be dead. Can't swim.

 

[Dalek]

All I can think of is that movie Open Water.

 

[Kieli]

If I were him I'd be dead. Can't swim.

I'm surprised he isn't dead from the fall alone.

It must be like hitting concrete at that speed.

 

[CrazyDude]

If I were him I'd be dead. Can't swim.

You could always float on your back.

I'm surprised he isn't dead from the fall alone.

It must be like hitting concrete at that speed.

People have survived worse.

 

[okno]

I cruised on that exact cruise ship a year and a half ago. He must have wanted to jump off, because you have to climb over a pretty huge railing from the top floor. It ain't essy, I can tell you that! I'm also amazed he didn't hit any of the rescue ships that are on the side on his way down. If he had done it from the back of the boat, he would have ended in the amphitheater. If he did from the front of the boat, he'd have landed ln the helipad, so the only other logical spot would be on either side, but they're flanked by over 10 rescue boats on both sides!

 

[NEO0MJ]

I wonder if he was drunk. You don't forget why you fell. Though if he was drunk when he fell I doubt he could have lasted that long in the water.

I'm surprised he isn't dead from the fall alone.

It must be like hitting concrete at that speed.

How much does falling perfectly straight help mitigate damage?

 

[Delta Assault]

If I were him I'd be dead. Can't swim.

The human body is naturally buoyant.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Was alcohol involved?
Norovirus keeps me away from cruises in general.

 

[TheJLC]

Yeah saw this on the news. This guy had someone watching over him to survive that fall, survive that long, and then be spotted and rescued.

 

[neptunes]

How could you not remember the events that would lead to that? Alcohol?

 

[Squishy3]

I'm surprised he isn't dead from the fall alone.

It must be like hitting concrete at that speed.

So not obviously the same scenario, but Mythbusters did a bust on a Burn Notice stunt where the character jumps 35 feet down onto a mattress into a 4.5 foot pool. Their test with a cadaver (specifically one with all the bones and organs inside of it) showed that the character had more injuries and probably would have died from landing on the mattress but if they landed on the concrete bottom of the pool they'd have only suffered a shattered pelvis and a paralyzing spinal injury at the least.


A stuntman later did the full jump using techniques to reduce how deep they went in the pool from the jump and he ended up going a few inches below (they used a deeper pool, obviously) and they deemed it was probably a survivable injury if someone used those techniques.

Not entirely improbable that he didn't die from the fall, but it probably hurt a ton if not have broken some bones.

 

[Revolutionary]

How could you not remember the events that would lead to that? Alcohol?

Of course. This kind of shit happens fairly often on cruise ships, actually. I remember watching a doc on the subject some years ago.

But yeah it's a miracle he was spotted.

 

[Auto-Reply]

You could always float on your back.

....

Clothes soaked with water dragging you down, waves forcing you to fight against your own position, constantly swallowing water, cold temperatures(?). The ocean is not the same as a swimming pool... at least thats how I imagine it would be.

 

[Wag]

Not entirely improbable that he didn't die, but it probably hurt a ton if not have broken some bones.

According to an interview on the national news when they brought the guy on board he was sitting up on his stretcher and waving.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

The Tony Scott suicide was ruled death by trauma, if I recall.
I am haunted by that since I traverse that same bridge commonly.

 

[Ingueferroque]

A Disney cruise ship? Upgrade.

 

[GavinGT]

So not obviously the same scenario, but Mythbusters did a bust on a Burn Notice stunt where the character jumps 35 feet down onto a mattress into a 4.5 foot pool. Their test with a cadaver (specifically one with all the bones and organs inside of it) showed that the character had more injuries and probably would have died from landing on the mattress but if they landed on the concrete bottom of the pool they'd have only suffered a shattered pelvis and a paralyzing spinal injury at the least.


A stuntman later did the full jump using techniques to reduce how deep they went in the pool from the jump and he ended up going a few inches below (they used a deeper pool, obviously) and they deemed it was probably a survivable injury if someone used those techniques.

Not entirely improbable that he didn't die from the fall, but it probably hurt a ton if not have broken some bones.

21 stories is more like 160 feet.

 

[TheSeks]

and then the second cruise ship chances upon him in the open ocean in doubly so.

Defo.

Though This sort of thing isn't uncommon on cruise ships apparently.

 

[whitehawk]

A Disney cruise ship? Upgrade.

All according to keikaku.

 

[Loofy]

The human body is naturally buoyant.

How do people drown then.

 

[Floridian]

How do people drown then.

By not remaining calm, atleast that's what my swimming instructor used to tell me.

 

[Wag]

21 stories is more like 160 feet.

The news said that 21 stories was higher than Niagra Falls. That's pretty damn far to fall and not to die upon impact, water or not.

 

[fixuis]

The human body is naturally buoyant.

That has not been my experience..Neither has floating on back worked. So I am left to wonder if these are just myths.

 

[Auto-Reply]

That has not been my experience..Neither has floating on back worked. So I am left to wonder if these are just myths.

It works (I go swimming twice a week), but as I mentioned, I'm not swimming with my streetwear on and also not in the ocean, which can make quite the difference I assume.

 

[Little Green Yoda]

21 stories is more like 160 feet.

Isn't one story typically 10 feet?

 

[Leona Lewis]

If you've never been on a cruise, you can't really fathom how terrifyingly hopeless he must have felt in that vast, freezing, seemingly endless ocean.

You fall and no one sees you...that's basically guaranteed death. This story is nuts.

 

[Phat Michael]

did he have to float/tread water for 5 hours???

 

[Milamber]

Christ! It reminds me of this particular horror.

 

[Phat Michael]

Isn't one story typically 10 feet?

One storey is 10+ feet, however a 10 storey building is NOT 100 feet tall.

There are spaces in between the floors for wiring/air/electrical/circulation. In this case if he went 21 storeys it could have been 250 feet really..

 

[GavinGT]

One storey is 10+ feet, however a 10 storey building is NOT 100 feet tall.

There are spaces in between the floors for wiring/air/electrical/circulation. In this case if he went 21 storeys it could have been 250 feet really..

The ship in question has a height of 236 feet above the water line. By my estimation, that puts the top deck at about 160 feet up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Oasis_of_the_Seas

 

[firehawk12]

I don't get why the first cruise ship didn't stop?

 

[GavinGT]

I don't get why the first cruise ship didn't stop?

It was the middle of the night and apparently nobody noticed.

 

[Bizazedo]

One storey is 10+ feet, however a 10 storey building is NOT 100 feet tall.

There are spaces in between the floors for wiring/air/electrical/circulation. In this case if he went 21 storeys it could have been 250 feet really..

Royal Caribbean closed-circuit TV video showed the man was alone on the Oasis ship Deck 5 when he went overboard at 6:07 a.m. "There were no other guests or crew around at the time," said Cynthia Martinez, a Royal Caribbean spokeswoman.

I've been on the ship many times. It has over 15 decks. He did not fall 21 stories lol.

 

[Phat Michael]

The ship in question has a height of 236 feet above the water line. By my estimation, that puts the top deck at about 160 feet up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Oasis_of_the_Seas

Fair enough. That is fucking massive!!!

 

[geeko]

You should have seen my face when i read the thread title. I just started a 2 week cruise to hawaii today, and now I don't think I want another drink.

 

[Piggus]

Good christ that ship is huge. It's like a dense, floating town.

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

At that height, isn't falling into water the same as into concrete (if he'd landed badly)?

 

[MisterNugNug]

Hollywood is going to make this into a movie aren't they?

 

[Bizazedo]

Good christ that ship is huge. It's like a dense, floating town.

Biggest ship in the world. Lot of fun too.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Biggest ship in the world. Lot of fun too.

Bigger than tankers and aircraft carriers? :O

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

Lucky guy. Could have been a nasty death.

 

[Maitiú]

That has not been my experience..Neither has floating on back worked. So I am left to wonder if these are just myths.

Did you do it in ocean water? It has a higher specific gravity (~1.024) than a chlorine pool (~1.000), so it's easier to float. As an extreme demonstration of this effect, check out this idiot floating in the dead sea (s.g. of 1.166).

Here's more info on factors that affect floatation (fat, air in lungs, tissue distribution, age, sex, race).

 

[Bollocks]

Not even sharks attacked him?

 

[MikeHattsu]

Really lucky that guy.

 

[Sdkkds]

Bigger than tankers and aircraft carriers? :O

No, it's the fifth or sixth largest ship in the world, but it is larger than aircraft carriers, but not larger than the largest tankers. But it is the biggest cruise ship in the world.

 

[akachan ningen]

thank god we live in a time where party boats are patrolling our seas and rescuing people.

 

[Caddywompus]

I love that there's a "find a cruise" ad at the bottom of this thread.

 

[numble]

I love that there's a "find a cruise" ad at the bottom of this thread.

I get "Private Snorkel Trips."

 

[Dorsal Axe]

I'm surprised he isn't dead from the fall alone.

It must be like hitting concrete at that speed.

It's kind of nuts how far people can fall and still survive. I remember when I went to visit my friend in a spinal injuries unit there was another patient who had fallen off a very large tower block (can't remember exactly, at least 14 stories if not more) and somehow remained whole and very much alive.