The U.S. Coast Guard has started a man-overboard search for a Carnival cruise ship guest who “jumped” over the side on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, a passenger was reported missing while the Canival Elation was on its way back from a trip to the Bahamas. Since morning, no one had seen the man. A Carnival representative said that the crew searched the ship but didn’t find him. After looking at the security footage, “it was determined that he jumped” over the side.
At 18:30 on Sunday, the Carnival Elation told the U.S. Coast Guard that a person had fallen overboard. The search began about 95 nautical miles off the coast of Melbourne, Florida. By the time the search began, the cruise ship was miles away from where the MOB happened, so it was suggested that it keep going to its home port in Jacksonville.
Jaylen Hill, 30, has been named by the U.S. Coast Guard as the missing traveler. Carnival said in a statement that it is giving help to his family.
The ship USCGC Tarpon, an HC-130J search plane from Air Station Clearwater, and an Ocean Sentry search plane from Miami are all being used in the search.
As of Monday, the Carnival Elation had already gone back to her homeport, changed people, and left on her next business trip.
By law, the railings on cruise ships must be at least 42 inches high, and each ship must have a video tracking system in case a person falls overboard. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), falls that happen by accident are rare, and most man-overboard incidents are thought to be caused by customer actions.
A woman who jumped off the Carnival Valor in February 2022, a man who jumped off the Carnival Mardi Gras in April 2022, and a man who jumped off the Carnival Horizon in March 2022 all died after they jumped overboard on their own. Only a small number of rescue or recovery efforts are successful.
