A pair of fishermen have told how they found a cruise ship worker treading water in the Pacific Ocean nine hours after he is believed to have fallen overboard.
The 37-year-old man, who is a pianist on a Royal Caribbean cruise liner, told his rescuers Sean Norton and Grant Garrett he ‘thought he was going to die’ after spending up to nine hours in the sea.
The duo have now told of their surprise after stumbling across the bloke nearly 20 miles off the coast of California while they were out fishing.
The pianist is believed to have been kept his head above the water for a whopping nine hours while he was trapped ‘in the middle of the ocean’.
Norton and Garrett explained that they had headed out on a fishing trip near Catalina Island on Friday (6 November) when they first noticed the man.
Grant Garrett and Sean Norton said the man feared he was going to die (CBS News)
Garrett told CBS News: “I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a human being. Stop the boat; let’s get all of our lines in.”
Norton explained that they both grabbed onto one of his arms and ‘lifted him up’ onto their boat, adding: “He was in total shock.”
The cruise worker reportedly informed them he had been working on Royal Caribbean’s ‘Ovation of the Seas’, which was heading to Ensenada, Mexico from Long Beach, California.
He explained he was a pianist on the 14-deck vessel, which is described as being one of the ‘world‘s most innovative ships’.
Norton said: “The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you…I thought I was gonna die’.”
‘No way’ he would have made it if it wasn’t for El Niño
The fishing enthusiasts then explained why they reckon that the weather conditions are the only thing that saved him.
“You have this crazy super El Niño year,” Norton went on. “This guy was in the water for probably 10 hours, but the water’s 76 degrees – a different year, no way he makes it.”
Newport Beach lifeguards later took over the rescue a short time after the fishermen sent out an emergency maritime call.
The Coast Guard confirmed it had received a report from ‘a Good Samaritan who recovered a conscious individual from the water’ in a statement.
Garrett and Norton said they were ‘glad that they were there’ to help the pianist who found himself in peril.
An investigation into how he ended up in the water is now underway (James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda said that the 37-year-old was found ‘approximately 15 to 20 miles offshore, pretty much in the middle of the ocean’ by the two fishermen.
The pianist was rushed to hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, officials in the US said. An investigation is underway to establish how the man ended up in the Pacific.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Group said: “We are providing support and assistance to our crew member during this difficult time.
“To respect the privacy of our employee, we have no additional details to share.”
LADbible have approached Royal Caribbean for further comment.
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