Man rescued after falling overboard

A Disney cruise ship came to the rescue of a man who jumped overboard from another cruise ship into the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.

The Carnival Sensation notified the U.S. Coast Guard around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday that a 34-year-old man had gone overboard about 30 miles off Port St. Lucie. The Disney Wonder was in the same area and joined the search.

A Disney rescue boat spotted the man around 12:45 a.m. and brought him on board, officials said early Thursday.

"He had been treading water for about an hour and a half. He was fine, but he was physically exhausted," Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen said.

The man jumped overboard from a balcony stateroom, according to a statement from Carnival Cruise Lines. The man's name was not released.

A passenger aboard the Sensation said the man could be heard arguing with a woman.

"He threatened to jump, and she said, 'Go ahead,' and he did," said Marie McDonald, who was vacationing from New York. "Then we heard the man screaming, 'Help! Help!"'

The Sensation stopped abruptly as its crew threw markers into the water and tried to launch a rescue boat, but the smaller vessel tipped over, sending its gear into the water and its crew back onto the cruise ship, McDonald said.

"For over an hour he was screaming for help. We were shouting at him to hold on," she said.

The Disney rescue boat brought the man back to the Wonder, which brought him to Port Canaveral. Both cruise ships returned to the port as scheduled Thursday morning after four-day cruises in the Bahamas.

The man was taken to a hospital for an evaluation, cruise officials said. His condition was not known.

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