'Drunk' man jumps off cruise ship in front of shocked family

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A young man on holiday with his family reportedly leaped from their cruise ship into dark waters while his family watched helplessly.

The 20-year-old, who has not been identified, was a passenger on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas when the incident took place as the ship travelled between Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island, the New York Post reported.

Witnesses told the outlet the man’s father and brother watched as he went overboard, while an onlooker described the jumper as “pretty drunk” in the hot tub until about 3:30 a.m.

“As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us,” passenger Bryan Sims told the Post.

“His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess.”

Sims said the man replied to his dad, “I’ll fix this right now,” and then jumped.

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Passengers reported on social media that the vessel came to a stop after the man plummeted into the waters below.

“The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, who has taken over the search,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement. “Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time.”

They added: “For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”

The man remains missing and a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said they were still considering it a rescue operation.