A man has reportedly gone missing after going overboard on a Carnival cruise.
The alarming news was first reported by TMZ, with a spokesperson for the company confirming that a man had "jumped" overboard Carnival's Mardi Gras ship.
In a statement to the outlet, the Carnival spokesperson said:
"The Carnival Care Team is supporting the guest's family. Mardi Gras is arriving to Port Canaveral this morning and will be sailing to its next itinerary. Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his family."
TMZ reports that the incident occurred on Saturday morning (April 16), as the cruise ship was headed for Port Canaveral, Florida.
A female passenger told TMZ that she was on deck seven on Saturday morning when she saw two panicked teenagers running past her. She allegedly told the teens to slow down, to which they replied that a passenger had gone overboard.
CruiseHive.com reports that the incident occurred at around 1:00AM.
In a statement to CruiseHive, the cruise company said: “The crew of Carnival Mardi Gras reported to the U.S. Coast Guard that an adult male guest jumped overboard early Saturday morning during the ship’s return to Port Canaveral.
"The ship’s crew participated in search and rescue efforts until the ship was released by the U.S. Coast Guard, which continues the search."
Despite some people apparently believing the commotion to be part of a prank, the ship's security team started a search for the missing passenger.
TMZ states that the passenger was an adult male who was on the ship with his family.
The Coast Guard was reportedly called to the ship's location and bright lights were shone onto the dark sea in an effort to locate the man.
The Carnival cruise liner stayed in place in an effort to help with the search, but has since continued heading for its destination. Port Canaveral is the liner's final stop, concluding what has been a seven-night Eastern Caribbean voyage. Other stops along the cruise included Nassau in The Bahamas, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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