Cruise ship pianist rescued at sea after nine hours in the Pacific Ocean

A pianist from a cruise ship was found at sea about 32 km from the Californian coast after falling overboard. The story is told by CBS, also reported by the BBC. According to reports, the 37-year-old man, a Royal Caribbean employee, was spotted last Friday by two men on a fishing trip near Catalina Island. Authorities said he may have remained in the Pacific Ocean for over nine hours. The man, whose identity has not yet been released, was transported to hospital in stable condition. The US Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

The story

According to what the fishermen declared, the man explained that he worked as a pianist on board the "Ovation of the Seas", a cruise ship with 14 decks. The man was then handed over to Newport Beach lifeguards, who confirmed that he was a member of the cruise ship's crew. According to probable reconstructions, the man may have fallen into the sea around 02:30, approximately nine hours before he was found. “It was about 15 to 20 miles offshore, basically in the middle of the ocean,” Adam Yacenda, Newport Beach's lifeguard chief, told CBS. Among the reasons why man would have survived there would be the unusually warm ocean temperatures. "We are in a year characterized by an exceptionally intense 'El Niño' phenomenon. This man remained in the water for about 10 hours, but the temperature was 76 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 24°C.", explained one of the rescuers. “In a different year, he would never have made it,” added another person who helped the pianist.

The climatic situation linked to El Niño

The climate phenomenon called "El Niño", currently developing, is the most intense ever recorded, according to scientists monitoring the Pacific Ocean. Ocean temperatures are in fact higher than average by around 3.05 °C.