Passengers aboard the Regal Princess are singing the praises of the cruise company after the crew helped with the rescue of two plane crash survivors on Tuesday.
The cruise, which was en route to St. Thomas, one of the Virgin Islands, was reportedly alerted of the victims by the US Coast Guard and sent out a dinghy to retrieve the men as passengers aboard the Regal Princess watched and cheered from the ship’s deck.
“On a cruise and just watched @USCG and @PrincessCruises Regal crew rescue two people that ditched a light plane in the Atlantic Ocean,” one of the passengers remarked on Twitter, describing them as “heroes”.
“They were saved! Good job to the #uscoastguardand the #regalprincess crew!” wrote another who captured footage of the rescue.
The ship’s captain, Captain Stringer, later came over the intercom to inform passengers that both the pilot and his passenger were “doing good,” according to a witness.
“Just heard the captain say both people are doing well. We are back on our original course. Unbelievable outcome and incredible work by our captain and crew of the Regal @PrincessCruises,” a passenger wrote.
Princess Cruises soon confirmed the good news, saying that the victims were safe and the ship was continuing to St. Thomas.
A subsequent statement obtained by Fox News on Thursday confirmed both people rescued sailed on to St. Thomas with the rest of the passengers.
“Princess Cruises can confirm that upon request from the US Coast Guard Regal Princess assisted in the rescue of two US citizens whose private aircraft went down southeast of Grand Turk in the Caribbean Sea,” the cruise line said.
“Both people rescued sailed onboard Regal Princess as the ship sailed to the next port of call St. Thomas. Regal Princess arrived in St. Thomas yesterday.”
The pilot and passenger had reportedly gone down approximately 23 miles off the coast of the Turks and Caicos, according to the Miami New Times. The FAA subsequently coordinated their rescue, and the Regal Princess’ crew and captain were alerted soon afterward.
“They recovered them with no injuries reported,” a Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed.