Carnival cruise ship rescues 2 men in raft off Key West

Carnival cruise ship rescues 2 men in raft off Key West
Passenger describes dramatic rescue of two men without shoes
By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel
7:31 p.m. EDT, May 26, 2014

A Carnival cruise ship on its way to Cozumel rescued two men floating in
a tiny raft off Key West on Sunday, a Coast Guard official said.

The men were transferred to a U.S. Coast Guard ship and were still
offshore Monday evening, Petty Officer Sabrina Laberdesque said.

Coast Guard officials suspect the men to be migrants, but could not
confirm Monday whether they were from Cuba or elsewhere.

Sunrise resident Dawn Burak, a passenger aboard the Carnival Victory,
watched the "unbelievable" rescue unfold Sunday around 6:30 p.m.

"There were two men in what looked like a Styrofoam rectangle with two
oars," Burak said. "The only thing in the raft was a towel and something
that looked like a jug."

The men seemed thrilled when the cruise ship stopped to rescue them,
Burak said.

"One of the men waved to cruisers as everyone was outside on the deck
looking over the ship," she said. "Everyone cheered when the men were
brought on the ship."

Burak said she assumed the men were from Cuba.

Passengers were told the men were being taken to the infirmary to be
checked out by a medical team, Burak said.

"They had no food on the boat," she said. "They had shorts on. But
neither one had shoes."

Both men appeared to be in their 40s, she said.

"I felt so bad for these people," Burak said. "There are sharks in that
water."

In March, a Carnival ship saved 41 Cuban migrants from a small boat in
the Florida Straits, a 90-mile span of water between Cuba and Key West.

sbryan@tribune.com or 954-356-4554

Source: Carnival cruise ship rescues 2 men in raft off Key West - Sun
Sentinel -
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-cruise-ship-rescue-raft-20140526,0,5151015.story