In the early hours of Friday morning, while cruising from Gibraltar to Barcelona, the Disney Magic overheard radio traffic between two other ships that were searching for a boat in distress. The cruise line says that their vessel decided to join in the search and was lucky to have located the boat nearly immediately.
Disney Cruise Line said that the rescued people were 16 men and 2 women - all Algerians. Their boat had lost power while they sailed, stranding them at sea. It had previously been reported that the people had been missing for 4-5 days. The Algerians were taken aboard the Disney Magic and given medical attention, food and staterooms. They later disembarked in Barcelona.
Disney says that they are proud of their crew members, who demonstrated their skilled training and commitment to maritime protocols around saving lives. Barcelona authorities have been notified of the rescue, they added.
This isn’t the first time that a Disney Cruise Line ship has rescued someone. In September 2009, the Disney Wonder, which is the twin sister of the Disney Magic, rescued a man that had jumped off a Carnival cruise ship while voyaging the Bahamas.
This also isn’t the first time that ships have lost power while at sea. Just at the end of last month, a Princess Cruises ship lost power shortly after starting their voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Source: news.carrentals.co.uk
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