The US Coast Guard rescues a man who fell off a cruise ship in dramatic video

Dramatic footage captured by the US Coast Guard shows the moment they rescued a cruise passenger who had been swimming alone in the Gulf of Mexico for over 15 hours after falling overboard.

The 28-year-old man was found treading water around 8:25 p.m. Thursday evening 20 miles south of Louisiana’s Southwest Pass after his sister reported him missing from a Carnival Cruise ship bound for Cozumel, Mexico.

According to USCG, he was spotted by crews aboard the bulk carrier Crinis, who then called in an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to the rescue.

That pulse-pounding clip depicts the distraught man waving his arms in desperation towards the helicopter while struggling to keep his head above the waves, surrounded by total darkness.

The grainy black-and-white clip appears to show a USCG member descending from the helicopter into the water to escort the man to safety. Members of the rescue team usually talk to each other inaudibly over the radio.

“He’s halfway up,” says a security guard as a lighted figure on a rope approaches the plane.

This missing man, who has yet to be identified, was at Carnival Valor’s bar with his sister at 11 p.m. Wednesday night when he took a bathroom break and never returned, CNN reported.

DVIDS

DVIDS

The nurse did not report him missing to cruise officials until the following afternoon, forcing the cruise ship to track his way back to New Orleans.

The Coast Guard was notified around 2:30 p.m. and immediately launched a search that searched 200 miles of open ocean.

They found him about 6 hours later in 70-degree water, rescuers told local broadcaster KPLC TV.

After treading water for more than 15 hours, the passenger showed signs of hypothermia, shock and dehydration. He was taken to a hospital in New Orleans, where Coast Guard officials said he was in stable condition.

The man told rescuers he wasn’t sure how he fell overboard but confirmed he was on the cruise ship. It’s not exactly clear where or when he fell in.

Lt. Seth Gross of the US Coast Guard called the rescue “one of those Thanksgiving miracles,” adding that the man was able to survive as long as anyone he’s ever heard of.

“I think it kind of breaks the norm here, normality, and really just shows that the will to live is something that you have to consider in any search and rescue situation,” he told CNN.