TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A Carnival cruise ship returned to Tampa, Florida, Thursday with more passengers on board than when it left.
During a trip to Honduras and Mexico, Carnival Paradise came to the rescue of two dozen Cuban refugees, footage shared with Nexstar’s WFLA shows.
Herman Bips, a passenger on the Carnival Paradise, told WFLA’s Jeff Patterson that he noticed a change in speed during the ride, which was his first indication that something was amiss.
“It was Sunday afternoon around 4 o’clock and the boat felt like it was stopping,” Bips said.
On the horizon, he could see a small dot that looked like a boat. As the cruise ship approached, Bips could see an overloaded vessel in poor condition.
“Very poor [shape]”, Bips said. “Someone said it was actually leaking and they were bailing.”
The captain of the Paradise announced to his passengers that, according to maritime law, he would render aid and assistance to the vessel in distress.
“At that point, I think he knew he had to get people on board,” Bips said. “I understand that they gave them clothing, medical care, water, food, but they isolated them in a certain area.”
A Carnival spokesman confirmed that Paradise rescued 24 people on a small boat that was southwest of Cuba. The ship’s crew provided food, water and medical aid.
When the Paradise returned to port in Tampa this week, 21 men and three women from Cuba were surrendered to the custody of the US Coast Guard. WFLA has learned it is likely they will all return to Cuba.
“I was very sad, I mean it almost brought tears to my eyes that people were so desperate to leave a country and put themselves [at risk]”, Bips said. “You know, if we hadn’t seen them, they probably would have drowned.”
