The crew of a cruise ship came to the aid of nine people who were in distress on a small boat off the Florida coast on Saturday, May 16.
Mardi Gras, a 340-metre cruise ship operated by Carnival Corporation, had just departed Port Canaveral on a scheduled Caribbean voyage when her crew spotted people on a small boat waving a distress flag some 33 nautical miles off the coast at around 17:45 local time on Saturday.
The crew notified the US Coast Guard and deployed a rescue tender. The nine people on the small boat were later brought aboard the cruise ship, where they received medical attention.
The nine castaways were offloaded and transferred to the custody of local officials when Mardi Gras made her first scheduled stop in the Bahamas on Sunday, May 17.
Initial reports stated that the rescued individuals had run out of food, water and fuel while they were out at sea on Saturday, prompting them to attempt contact with any vessels passing nearby.
Some of Mardi Gras' passengers posted about the successful rescue on social media. One passenger recounted that the ship was able to manoeuvre to within "a few yards" of the distressed boat to conduct the rescue and that the successful operation was completed in the fading light.