by It is the worst nightmare of every crusader and last weekend it was for a father who looked horrified when his five -year -old daughter fell from the side of her cruise ship.
His current decision to jump directly after her, as shocked passengers could be seen, certainly saved the young girl’s life and brought a mass of news with social media recordings of the rescue.
The incident occurred when the family came at the end of her vacation on board the Disney Cruise Line Ship Disney Dream when she returned from Bahamas to Florida. The ship crew took action and sent one of the delicate boats from Disney Dream to save the couple, which is believed to be in the water for about 20 minutes before they were picked up and brought back safely on board.
Mystery surrounds how the girl primarily fell out of the fourth deck. Thanks to the breast-high railings around the passenger decks, it is very difficult to fall from a cruise ship-but people do it.
According to the Website Cruise Junkie, this was only the second such incident this year. In 2024, 19 Cruise and Ferry passengers and crew members went overboard, although the highest total was in recent years when 29 people fell from ships. The total number has increased to 422 since the turn of the century.
How do people fall overboard?
There are exceptions -and this latest case is one -but the majority of the excess instances can usually be attributed to suicide, drunk or foul, and Andy Harmer, Great Britain and Ireland Managing Director of the Cruise Association Clia, the passengers would like to assure cruises “one of the safest travel shapes”.
“Today, cruise ships are the safest that have ever been sailed, thanks to the rules, regulations and technological innovations that rule their design,” he said. “No cases are known in which someone is responsible who accidentally fell over the railing of a cruise ship.”
What are the chances of survival?
But what are your chances of survival when you plunge from the side of a ship? The blunt answer is that the chances are stacked against them, but there are many variables that determine their fate. A lot depends on how far it falls and the temperature and condition of the sea.
“The first seconds are critical,” said Dr. Simon Boxall, Senior Docurer for Oceanology at the University of Southampton.
“If you fall from great height, you not only risk breaking a link when you hit the water, but will knock out the whole air out of you and you can drown very quickly.”
What are the risks of the fall overboard?
When immersing it in cold water, the victims go into a so -called “cold shock reaction” without exception, since the abrupt decline in the skin temperature causes them to take an involuntary gas that swallowed the sea water inevitably and makes them susceptible to drown.
According to Mike Tipton, Professor of Portsmouth University, a survival expert who wrote the guide. The Essential of sea survival60 percent of the deaths in Kalten See appear in the first few minutes after entering the water. Even if you go overboard when the cruise ship turns to call it up, it will be too late.
Another 20 percent of the victims succumb to hypothermia that can be used after 30 minutes, and the last 20 percent die when they are saved – a surprising incidence that suddenly relax the experts to the victims.
How cold is the water below and is there sharks?
The temperature of the sea is an important key to survival, and it is not surprising that you have a better chance of saving alive when you fall into the tropical Caribbean than into the cool water of the North Sea.
As a rule of thumb, it is estimated that the victims in waters of around 5 ° C have about 60 minutes before the hypothermic use. At 10 ° C, this doubles for two hours; And at 15 ° C it extends to six hours.
“If the water is above 25 ° C, there is a saying that the problem goes from cold to shark,” said Professor Tipton. Under such circumstances, however, shark attacks are still extremely rare.
What are the best survival techniques?
“One of the greatest survival problems is to know what will happen to them and that it is quite normal,” he emphasized.
“Remember that the reaction is normal and decreases after a few minutes.
If the cold moves through the victim’s body, they become physically incapable and may not be able to stick to flotation devices or use their hands.
Professor Tipton advises the victims to prepare before this is done by wedging a flotation device on their body or swimming in a better position. But only their legs as the expansion of the arms further cools the body.
Those who cannot attract anything are recommended to curl into a fetal position in order to save as much heat as possible and use one leg to isolate the other. Also keep your clothes – you will help you float.
It is also worth noting that it remains better in waters of less than 25 ° C, as they lose more body heat when they train to keep you warm.
Should you swim for help?
Swimming in quiet seas increases your chances of being discovered by rescue workers, while Choppier water will significantly reduce this.
“For rescue ships, it is really when they try to find someone who has fallen over the side of a ship is really like tracking down a needle in a hay pile,” said Dr. Boxingall.
If you don’t just have to swim a short distance, it is better to hone around until someone finds it. Women have an advantage because women generally have a higher level of subcutaneous body fat, which makes them able to float. For this reason, they suffer less often from swimming or water for hours.
For those who survive these first terrible minutes, the secret is to maintain their mood.
“Keep a positive mental setting and do not give up,” advises Professor Tipton. “After all, they have six hours in waters of 15 ° C, which is a rather long survival view. Remember not to relax, even if they are saved.”
This article was first published and revised and updated in September 2023.
