REUTERS
The Carnival cruise ship Paradise rescued 24 Cubans who were stranded at sea for five days.
A posh cruise ship’s captain saved the day when he rescued 24 Cubans who’d been stranded at sea on a broken-down boat for five days.
The Carnival Paradise’s commander slowed down his gigantic vessel Tuesday, during the first day of a five-day Caribbean trip, after spotting the smaller craft in distress.
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He first sheltered the packed raft from the high waves.
Then, he maneuvered the ship close enough so staff could lower a platform down to the water and throw rope and life jackets to those on board.
All 24 passengers were eventually able to jump onto the bigger ship.
Cruise-goer Matthew Sudders, a civil servant from Paris, watched the dramatic incident between Tampa, Fla., and the Grand Cayman Islands unfurl.
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Jasin Boland
Some passengers feared bringing the people in the boat about the cruise ship would result in a hijacking like the one in the film ‘Captain Phillips,’ which starred Tom Hanks (center).
“The ship turned slowly and approached the boat,” he told CNN.
“The people in it were yelling in Spanish. One of them appeared to be unwell in the bottom of the boat,” he added.
“We could see there was water in the bottom and although it had an engine, it wasn’t running. As we approached, one of them was flagging us down with his jacket.”
“There was a huge cheer for the people as they came aboard,” he said from the Grand Cayman Islands on Wednesday.
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He revealed some of his fellow passengers were worried the new arrivals would pose a security risk.
They referenced Capt. Richard Phillips, the American whose 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates inspired an Oscar-nominated film.
But he said that cruise officials announced they would be screened and questioned once on board.
A Carnival spokesman said the new passengers were provided with food, water, fresh clothing and somewhere to sleep before being medically checked over.
The ship’s itinerary was also unaffected by the rescue, he added.
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