Two Heroic Carnival Employees Saved a Wheelchair-bound Cruise Passenger After She Fell Off a Dock
Acts of heroism can happen in the most unexpected places, including a cruise ship.
According to Newsweek, two men on the Carnival Fascination cruise ship rescued a girl in a wheelchair after she fell into the water where the ship was docked. The ship was docked at the West Indian Company dock in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, as part of a seven-day Caribbean voyage to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Barbados.
The two men, Kashief “Kuntry” Hamilton and Randolph Donovan, were working on the boat when the incident happened, according to NBC News. Hamilton is a DJ who was playing music on the dock at the time, according to Newsweek. Donovan is a stilt dancer, according to the New York Post. The unnamed girl was a passenger aboard the ship, along with her family.
Donovan posted a video of the heroic rescue on his Facebook page, writing, “I couldn’t think I just had to move [real] quick.” According to Newsweek, Donovan jumped into the water as soon as he saw the girl, and put a safety ring around her. Donovan said on Facebook that the weight of both the girl and the wheelchair nearly made his rescue a close call.
“I was in a tight situation I keep screaming saying I cannot hold on no more,” wrote Donovan. According to NBC News, he had to detach the girl from her wheelchair in the water.
At that point, Hamilton jumped in to assist, fastening a rope around them both so they could be lifted out of the water, according to The Virgin Island Consortium.
“Thank God we all are safe and sound. The love that is coming is tremendous and I want to say thank you to each and everyone. [In a] situation like this, all you can do is act and hope for the best,” Hamilton wrote on Facebook.
Hamilton told NBC News that Donovan “went from trying to rescue her and now he's trying to survive. I can't lose my friend, so I jumped in.”
Donovan and Hamilton’s heroic feat was also celebrated by U.S. Virgin Islands Senator, Kurt Vialet. Senator Vialet wrote in his own Facebook post, according to Newsweek, “Job well done and thank you for your willingness to assist with this duty today! I know that young lady's family is forever grateful and we as a people are proud of you! Again, thank you heroes!”
A spokesperson for Carnival told NBC News that the girl did not sustain any injuries from the fall and was given a complimentary wheelchair for the remainder of the trip. “Our most sincere thanks and appreciation to these individuals for their heroic efforts in assisting this guest,” the company told NBC News in a statement.
