Four courageous crew members who immediately rushed to the aid of an overboard passenger on MSC Fantasia are to be officially commended by the local port authorities and government, and the ship’s owner MSC Cruises.

The incident happened on Thursday, march 5 in the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, due to factors beyond the control of MSC Cruises. The port authorities have confirmed their responsibility for the incident.

MSC Fantasia was moored and passengers were disembarking, when the strong winds to which the ship was exposed caused three bow mooring bitts to become detached simultaneously. As a result, the ship moved away from the dock, causing a disembarking guest to fall into the water.

Four members of the crew immediately dived in to help the man, who was brought to shore in just a few minutes and taken to a hospital, where he is currently under observation. The passenger is of Egyptian origin with Italian nationality and is in his 80s.

The port authorities of Palma de Mallorca, the city Mayor, a delegate of the central government in Mallorca and MSC Cruises will officially recognize the immense bravery and heroism of the crew members who dived in immediately after the passenger to bring him to safety in a matter of minutes.

The four crew members are:

Salvatore Caso – Chief Crew Steward, from Italy
Mr Naim Samsudin – Able Fireman, from Indonesia
Mr Andrian O Williams – Housekeeping Cleaner, from Madagascar
Mr Faamoe Lalopua – Able Sailor, from Samoa

At the time of the incident, the ship’s captain immediately took control of the ship, preventing any damage, and the ship was transferred to a different pier.

The crew members were also taken to a hospital for a check-up and all four have since returned to work on the ship, which continued to cruise to its next destination as usual.