Two men are breathing sighs of relief after being rescued from the Gulf of Mexico once their boat sank.
The incident happened Monday as a Carnival Jubilee ship passed by Isla Mujeres, Mexico, NBC 5 reported. When eagle-eyed cruise staffers noticed the men, who were floating along in a kayak, they knew exactly what to do.
After the crew hoisted the men onto the ship, they were given medical treatment and food. The cruise company said the rescued men later explained their boat sank, so they hopped into the kayak to survive.
An image shows the orange and yellow kayak on the water and the moment it neared the ship:
Two men stranded in a kayak in the Gulf of Mexico are counting their blessings after they were rescued by a cruise ship. https://t.co/8mwTjBe7ac
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) January 30, 2024
Video footage taken from the cruise ship caught the kayak bobbing up and down in the distance as travelers watched from their balconies on the vessel.
“They don’t have anything on the boat at all,” one person near the camera says as the kayak approaches the ship. The travelers then watch the rescue unfold.
Numerous people clap as one of the men appears to climb up the side of the ship to safety.
Another photo shows one of the boaters grabbing hold of a crew member’s hand as he makes his way out of the kayak.
“We are on this cruise! It was great how fast the crew responded!” one social media user commented on the photo:
A Carnival cruise ship rescued two men in a kayak after their boat sank in the Gulf of Mexico. https://t.co/Joh8CA71e0 pic.twitter.com/nFH3r7IWsA
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 30, 2024
The two boatmen were eventually transferred to a Mexican Navy vessel, the NBC report said, noting that “Carnival did not say how far off of the coast the men were when they were located.”
“The Jubilee departed Galveston on Saturday on a 7-day cruise of the Western Caribbean, and after the rescue continued on its voyage to Mahogany Bay on Roatan Island, Honduras. The ship will return to Galveston on Saturday morning,” the outlet said.