Disney Cruise Line Ship Rescues Five Cuban Nationals Sailing In Raft Made Of Metal Barrels
The Disney Cruise Line has come to the rescue yet again. Just about two weeks after rescuing a passenger who fell off of a Royal Caribbean ship, the Disney Magic has helped out once more by picking up five Cuban nationals who were out sailing around on a homemade raft consisting of mostly metal barrels.
According to the Disney Cruise Line Blog, the Disney Magic rescue happened upon a raft floating approximately 23 miles off the coast of Cuba. It was around noon Eastern Time when the Disney Cruise Line ship saw the raft floating and slowly approached it to help.
The raft appeared to be made mostly of metal barrels or oil drums and was soldered together with metal bars. The thin raft had jugs of water and some personal belongings along with the five Cuban nationals.
When the Disney Magic came upon the raft, they slowly pulled up to it and lowered the side door of the ship to access those on board.
One person who was a guest on board the Disney Magic stated that the rafters had been at sea on the homemade vessel for three days before being found.
The Disney Magic was in the middle of a seven-night Western Caribbean Cruise and heading toward Disney’s private island Castaway Cay when it came across the rafters. After a couple of hours on board, the group were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Two years ago, the Disney Wonder actually picked up five migrant rafters who were sailing off of the Florida Keys. The group of rafters were given food, water, and medical attention by those aboard the Disney Cruise Line ship before being turned over to the U.S. Guard.
This has ended up being a rather common occurrence for the ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
Earlier this month, the Disney Magic was sailing the same route as a ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. A passenger on the Oasis of the Seas ship fell overboard unnoticed by Royal Caribbean, and was rescued by the Disney Magic as it approached.
The Disney Cruise Line ship was sailing not too far from Cuba and heading to the next stop on their seven-night itinerary. After spotting the Cuban nationals in the raft, it hardly took any time for them to stop, help them, and get them back on their way with the Coast Guard.
The Disney Magic did not miss their next port of call and no injuries were reported.
[Images via Disney/Disney Cruise Line Blog]
