Watch video: Salvadorian woman who jumped off a Cruise ship found alive after floating 20 hours in the sea

A Salvadorian woman who jumped off a cruise ship into the Ionian Sea was rescued after 20 hours in the water. Earlier this week, on Friday, October 9, the incident occurred when Royal Caribbean Cruises' ship “Odyssey of the Seas” was sailing southwest of the island of Zakynthos, the coast guard said.

Two coast guard boats and a navy helicopter were dispatched to the area, along with the cruise ship from which she had allegedly jumped, and other nearby ships were rerouted to find her, after an alert went out early on Friday.

A passing freighter ship then found her in a fully conscious state, in a life ring early on Saturday, and was picked up by a Greek coast guard patrol boat.


The coast guard released a video that shows a crew throwing a rope to a woman floating inside an orange life ring in dark water. The 40-second video also shows a second rope being thrown at her with another ship in the distance.

Watch:

Woman who spent 20 hours in the Ionian Sea after jumping off cruise ship is being rescued

As per the officers, she was then taken to the hospital in the nearby city of Pyrgos via the port of Katakolo for health tests.

The Salvadorian woman whose name was not released told her rescuers that she jumped off the ship because she “wanted to disembark,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told AFP. “She was 20 hours at sea,” the officer added.

“Odyssey of the Seas” is 1,138 feet long and can take in over 4,000 guests.

Last year, another cruise ship passenger named Jey Gonzalez-Diaz jumped off Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As per reports, he wanted to evade over $16,000 in gambling debt, and after surviving the jump, was detained by US Customs and Border Protection officers.