Man who Plunged off Cruise Ship Found Alive in Waters off Fort Lauderdale
By Macollvie Jean-Francois of Sun-Sentinel.com
& Sarah Lundy of the Orlando Sentinel
Coast Guard crews found a 35-year-old man alive far offshore in the Atlantic ocean on Friday, hours after he reportedly fell from a cruise ship about 30 miles east of Fort Lauderdale.
Coast Guard rescuers aboard a cutter saw Michael Mankamyer, a hospital technician from Orlando, waving his arms and screaming for help about 8:45, said spokesman Petty Officer 1st Class Dana Warr. He'd been in the water around eight hours after he was reported overboard.
"It's pretty miraculous that he's still alive," Warr said. "It's not that it doesn't happen, but it's few and far between when we're trying to find someone that jumps from a cruise ship."
Warr said Mankamyer had no floatation device or other safety gear on him when he fell 60 feet. They do not know yet how he managed to survive.
Mankamyer, who family and friends said is an imaging technician with Florida Hospital, had drifted 15 miles.
Mankamyer was in good condition, suffering from mild hypothermia and a collapsed lung, when rescuers aboard the Miami cutter Chandeleur airlifted him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Margaret Wega of Orlando, said Mankamyer was on the cruise with her son, Salvie, to celebrate the boy's 16th birthday. She said he has spoken to her son but he wasn't able to talk about what happened.
"I didn't want to think the worst when I heard what happened," she said. "I thank God he's OK."
The cruise ship Carnival Glory, which is based in Port Canaveral, reported the man missing to the Coast Guard about 12:45 a.m. Friday.
The ship reported that Mankamyer had fallen or jumped from the balcony in his room down 60-feet into the water, a Coast Guard statement said.
A witness said Mankamyer was intoxicated, Warr said.
After the cruise ship alerted authorities early Friday, it stayed in the area to assist with the search, Warr said.
``The time that they did spend was appreciated,'' Warr said.
The search was conducted by the cruise ship, another cruise ship called the Disney Magic, the Coast Guard cutters Chandeleur and Vigorous and a helicopter.
In a prepared release, Carnival said the passenger went overboard while the ship was en route to Nassau, The Bahamas, its scheduled port of call. It was on a seven-day cruise that departed Port Canaveral on March 10. Upon learning of the missing passenger, the ship's command notified the Coast Guard, then helped in search and rescue activities until 4:20 a.m. when it was released and continued on its itinerary. The Glory will arrive at Nassau on Friday, slightly behind schedule. After spending the day in port, the vessel will depart for Port Canaveral, arriving on Saturday and loading another group of passengers for another seven-day voyage.
