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Footage of the moment a man urgently waved for help after falling overboard from a cruise ship on Thanksgiving has been revealed. Watch the clip below:
The 28-year-old passenger was found alive after being reported missing from the Carnival Valor after plunging into the Gulf of Mexico.
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The man can be seen trying to get the attention of emergency workers as he fights against the water to stay afloat.
The search included a small boat from Venice, Florida and a helicopter based in New Orleans. Airplanes from Clearwater Florida and Mobile, Alabama also joined the search for the rescue mission which extended ‘more than 200 miles’ in the gulf.
He vanished from the cruise ship at around 2:30pm local time on Wednesday before being rescued around 20 miles from the Southern Pass in Louisiana on Thursday at around 8:30pm.
The unnamed man had been stranded for over 24 hours before he was hoisted to safety by the US Coast Guard.
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He was spotted by the crew of a bulk carrier named Crinis, with the rescue being dubbed a Thanksgiving miracle.
The man received medical treatment by medics at New Orleans Lakefront Airport and is said to be in a stable condition as of Friday (25 November) despite the frightening situation he found himself in.
“We are beyond grateful that this ended with a positive outcome,” Lieutenant Seth Gross, mission coordinator of the US Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, told CNN.
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“It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety.
“If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel Crinis, this case could have had a much more difficult ending.”
Lieutenant Gross described the rescue mission as being ‘unlike anything I’ve been part of.’
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Lt Gross added: “He was able to identify his name, confirmed that he was the individual that fell overboard.
“He was showing signs of hypothermia, shock, dehydration.
“I think it kind of blows the norm, the normalcy, out of the water here, and really just shows the will to live is something that you need to account for in every search-and-rescue case."
Rescuers haven't been able to determine exactly how long the poor man was in the water.
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Thankfully the man will live to see another holiday...
Gregory Robinson