Featured Image Credit: @axiompixels/Instagram
Topics: Cruise ship, Travel, Viral
Callum Jones
Ever wondered what actually happens when someone falls from a cruise ship? Then look no further.
Often described as the dream holiday, thousands of Americans head on a cruise every single year for some much-needed time away in the sun.
And while they are no doubt meant to be a time of relaxation and luxury, that doesn't mean accidents don't happen onboard... including people falling overboard.
Yes, while many would think this would be a pretty much impossible scenario to find themselves in, it does actually happen, with Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers estimating that approximately 19 cruise-goers fall overboard each year.
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212 overboard incidents were recorded between 2009 and 2019, and perhaps even more staggeringly, only 48 people were rescued after falling from the ship.
Now, a terrifying simulation has emerged that shows just what happens when this happens.
The video, uploaded by the Instagram account Axiom 3D, has detailed what would happen if someone was to fall overboard, and believe me when I say, it's pure nightmare fuel.
Documenting the fall of an animated character falling into the open ocean, a narrator for the viral video begins: "What happens if you fall from a cruise ship and no one sees you?
"First, you hit the water at 30 miles per hour. It feels like concrete."
The video went on to explain that the panic of hitting such freezing waters kicks in immediately, and with no life jacket, the grim reality soon kicks in.
While the individual may scream for help, the 'noise of the propellers' from this cruise line immediately drowns out any noise.
The ship is in the distance some ten minutes after the person has been thrown overboard. The video narrator went on: "Then it's gone, you are alone in the pitch black.
"The freezing water instantly saps your body heat. By hour one, exhaustion and terror take over."
You'll soon realize the water beneath is two miles deep and 'then you feel something brush against your leg'.
Certainly a horrific way to go.
So, what happens when cruise ship staff realize a passenger has gone overboard?
Well, the first action is a 'man overboard' alert to the bridge, followed by the crew broadcasting 'Code Oscar' over the ship’s public address system.
Once the point of the incident is recorded, the ship reverses course at maximum safe speed, while nearby vessels are deployed to assist with the rescue.
Crew will also deploy life rafts and rescue boats into the ocean, while lookouts will scan the surface and the surrounding area from the decks above.
While the attempted rescue takes place in the water, trained staff are on hand to provide support to the family and friends of the individual who's gone overboard.