The United States Coast Guard has called off the search for a 20-year-old man who jumped overboard on a Royal Caribbean cruise as family members stood by, stunned.
Officials said the ship was 57 miles from Great Inagua when the man jumped over the side of the ship, according to United Press International.
“The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, who has taken over the search,” a spokesman for Royal Caribbean said in a statement. The Liberty of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean’s ships.
“Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”
The Liberty of the Seas cruise ship is the 35th largest in the world, the Coast Guard said.
Witnesses said the man’s father and brother watched as he jumped, seemingly on a spur of the moment decision, over the side, according to The New York Post.
“I had hung out with him and his brother in the hot tub until 3:30,” passenger Bryan Sims told the Post. “It was standing room only. He sat right beside me the whole time.”
“He was pretty drunk,” Sims continued. “As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us. His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess.
“When we got to them, he said to his dad, ‘I’ll fix this right now.’ And he jumped out the window in front of us all.”
The cruise set sail from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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