Keller father, son on cruise ship witness dramatic rescue of two men stranded at sea
A North Texas father and son found themselves witnesses to a dramatic rescue at the sea Monday.
The duo was on board a cruise off the coast of Mexico when two men stranded in the water were spotted by the captain.
It was a strange sight in the vast and choppy waters near Mexico Monday that captured the attention of Lance Roche and his father.
"We were planning this vacation for the three months about," he said.
The Keller father and son are currently on board the Carnival Jubilee, enjoying a seven-day cruise.
The ship was about 15 miles off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, when the crew spotted two men struggling in a kayak.
"So we looked at where we could see them. And so that's her start recording the first video where I can see them really far out," Roche recalled. "And the ship started going towards them, and then they stopped."
Roche said he could feel the massive ship make a hard turn to get closer to the two men. At that point, he said hundreds of passengers were captivated by the dramatic rescue at sea.
"And they were calling and waving, and they had a whistle that you could hear," he recalled.
The men were brought on board the cruise ship, evaluated by medical staff and given food. According to Carnival, the two men were stranded after their boat sank, and they used the kayak to stay afloat.
"A few times, you could see that they almost flipped over," Roche said. "It seemed like in the kayak, and I'm also surprised and stayed over it throughout the night."
Carnival says the ship's team and fleet operation center staff in Miami kept in close contact with Mexican Navy officials and arranged a transfer, which was completed shortly after the rescue.
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Carnival Jubilee proceeded with its regular schedule to Mahogany Bay, Roatan, on Tuesday.
Roche is looking forward to some normalcy.
"It's it's been pretty fun," he said. "And I mean not nothing exciting has happened, but we're going to go see monkeys today. So that's exciting."
Carnival did not say where the men were from or how long they had been paddling in the gulf in search of help.