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Fishermen rescue cruise ship pianist after nine hours in Pacific

ABC News recounts the rescue off Newport Beach, with a lifeguard chief explaining how warm water helped the crew member survive.

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ABC News Story of November 10, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of ABC News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 238,829 views.

Cruise ship worker rescued by fisherman in Pacific Ocean

Grant Garrett and Sean Norton spotted a head in the ocean and realized they were looking at a person. They were among three fishermen who rescued a Royal Caribbean crew member miles off Newport Beach, California, according to ABC News.

The man was a piano player aboard a cruise ship heading to Mexico and had spent around nine hours treading water, ABC reports. Footage shows him wrapped up and sitting aboard the fishing boat after being pulled from the Pacific.

"He was shaking, he could not stop shaking, and he could not talk," Norton says. He describes the man as near death when they reached him.

Norton recalls that one of the first things the crew member managed to say was a thank-you, followed by an admission that he thought he would die.

Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Mike Ure says the relatively warm ocean water helped the man survive by reducing the risk of hypothermia. The report does not explain how he went overboard.

Royal Caribbean says it is providing support and assistance to its crew member. Newport Beach lifeguards transferred him to a hospital, ABC anchor Alison Kosik reports.

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