Two male crew of MS Celebrity Summit have been rescued from the waters of St Lawrence River on Monday, September 30, after they intentionally jumped overboard during the passage towards Quebec City.
At about 5:40 am Monday morning, a 3-person port security patrol responded to a call for help and then spotted a man in the water close to Quebec City's cruise ship terminal. A patrol officer assisted the crew member out of the water and waited until an ambulance arrived, a port spokesperson announced.
An additional crew member had also gone overboard, and upon a request from the cruise port, Quebec Fire Protection Service and Canadian Coast Guard launched a search. The second person had drifted with the current and was located at around 7:00 a.m. at a position about 2.5 nm to the west of the dock.
The water temperature in Saint Lawrence was about 55 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of the accident. Both crew members were wearing floatation vests, and though they survived both the cold water shock and the risk of drowning, both had to be taken to a hospital. The average hypothermia survival time in 55-degree water is around 2-4 hours.
Celebrity Cruises confirmed that the two were employees, and indicated they had "left the vessel without permission" into the water. The two men are believed to be from Zimbabwe and the UAE.
Celebrity Summit continued on her voyage, calling at Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island) on Wednesday, October 2. The ship is scheduled to arrive in New York, Cape Liberty Bayonne NJ-NYC on Sunday, October 6.
For other Celebrity Summit accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.