A woman who was praised after she comforted a nine-year-old girl who went overboard on a Disney Cruise has been identified.
Alyssa Charles, a South African lead physician on the Disney Dream cruise liner, was seen cradling the young girl just moments after she was pulled to safety in a dramatic, caught-on-camera rescue last Sunday, the Daily Mail reported.
Her sister Jasmine, 28, shared the clip of the rescue with the caption: “That’s my sister! Doctor on the rescue boat!” adding: “My sister is the head doctor that was in the boat! I am so emotional watching this, and I am such a proud little sister!”
Charles, who is a pediatric and emergency care specialist and has worked for Disney Cruise Line since August last year, was there to comfort the child who had slipped through the ship’s porthole and plummeted into the ocean as the vessel was making its way back to Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas.
The girl’s 37-year-old father immediately jumped into the water to rescue her, with the pair treading water for around 20 minutes until rescue teams arrived to pull them to safety. Jasmine was seen comforting the little girl once she was safely on the rescue boat.
The father-daughter duo were treated onboard before being taken to a local hospital once they returned to port.
Amid speculation online that the father had been holding his daughter over the railing when she fell, authorities have clarified the details.
“The little girl was not being held, as erroneously reported on some social media sites,” the Broward County Sheriff’s Office told CBS News Miami, addressing false claims that the father had lifted her for a photo before she slipped.
The incident took place on Sunday aboard the Disney Dream as it sailed between the Bahamas and Fort Lauderdale.
After the child fell into the ocean, her father immediately jumped in after her and stayed afloat for over 10 minutes until the rescue team arrived, with the moment captured on cell phone video.
Passenger Monica Shannon defended the father amid the speculation, sharing what a crew member reportedly told her about what happened before the fall: “The crew member who said that’s her station and she was on the fourth floor, she did say that she was climbing up and the parents were playing shuffleboard and the dad jumped in after her.”
Shannon, who was waiting with her family on a lower deck to meet Disney princesses when the incident happened, said: “I just figured it was maybe a part of the show or just the experience, but about five minutes later we heard that someone flew overboard.”
Authorities and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office have praised the swift and professional response of the Disney Dream crew, which ensured the rescue was successful.
“Based on media reports I have read, the Disney crew was well prepared. Clearly, their training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, per the New York Times.
“While there doesn’t appear to be anything suspicious, Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the circumstances that led up to the child falling overboard.
"This family is so blessed. It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome,” the statement added.