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Child falls from cruise ship


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PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. —

A cruise ship that left Port Canaveral Friday afternoon returned to the port after a young child was injured in a fall, officials said.

The Royal Caribbean ship Monarch of the Seas left Port Canaveral around 4:30 p.m. and was headed for the Bahamas.

Officials told WFTV that a 1-year-old child crawled through an 11th floor railing and fell to a balcony one floor below.

The ship turned around and headed back to port so the child could be taken to a hospital. Around 7:30 p.m. the child was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.

There is no word on the child's current condition.

Saturday morning Royal Caribbean issued a statement regarding the incident:

"On Friday, December 21, a 14-month-old guest from India traveling on Monarch of the Seas was injured in a fall. The guest was initially treated in our medical facility, but required additional and urgent medical attention that could only be provided in a hospital. Therefore, the ship turned around and returned to Port Canaveral, Florida, where we could debark the guest and their family so that the guest could receive urgent medical care.

 

Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family. Our thoughts are with their family, and we will continue to do our very best to assist them."

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Wow:eek: That is horrible. I have heard nothing but bad news lately! I hope the child and the family are doing well.

 

Hate to say it but can only assume the child was climbing and not being supervised. We all have accidents - not judging - but pretty hard to fall from these balconys I think

\

I read the article on the Orlando sentinel web site,,wasn't a balcony cabin,,outsiide on deck I believe,,my observation,,cannot take your eyes off your kids,,,I can get paranoid about that,,but better safe than sorry.

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On Monarch iot would be relatively easy for a one year old to fit through the railings on deck 12.

 

I am not sure child would fit through railings but it is easy to stand on sun loungers and hang over the railings if child is not being supervised.

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With regards to why did the ship return to port rather than CG helo doing a hoist:

 

There are no CG helo's in the Canaveral area. One would have to come from Miami, Savannah or Clearwater. Clearwater being the nearest would have the Jaywalk which has a normal cruising speed of about 150 mph, and the distance is a bit over 150 miles, so the helo was more than an hour away unless already in the air and closer with a full load of gas .... and also add in the time to do the hoist .... and possible additional delays if the helo were to have to abort part way there due to a problem and an alternat launched ....if the ship can be back to the pier in 90 minutes or so it is probably going to be the best / safest route.

 

The decision of 'how to' conduct a medivac involves the input of a CG (actually PHS) flight surgeon, in addition to the pilots and other "experts". Availability of assets is a concern, potential for further injury, time .... all are among the factors that must be considered when considering the alternatives.

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On the Orlando news just now: A child fell from Monarch OTS last night after leaving Port Canaveral. The ship returned to port and the child was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for children in Orlando.

 

It makes it sound like the child fell overboard. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was only from deck 10 to deck 11. Nevertheless, I feel bad for them. I am surprised though, that they would turn the ship around that close to Port Canaveral, and didn't just have Coast Guard come out.

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The maximum spacing for railing members in the US is 4" and also perhaps in the International Building Code as well. I expect to see all the cruise ships stringing up orange netting until they can upgrade all their railings.

 

I've often thought the rails were pretty wide and thought how handy for a kiddo to climb up let alone fall through.

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Update from the CD, Marc Walker on the MN

 

Update on baby that fell .......good news, being released from Arnold Palmer in the next 24 hours, no major injuries. Christmas Miracle!!!

 

Wonderful news for ALL!

 

BILL

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where were the parents when this happened???:mad:

 

Probably right there. Do you have kids of your own?

 

I understand the child falling but the original poster could have said "falls on ship". The post sounds like the child fell overboard.:eek:

 

The very next post clarified it. What more do you need?

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Another example of parents not doing there job.

I hope what happened was a fluke. Some toddlers can move in a flash. Was Dad negligent? We'll never know. Was the child in sight and Dad got distracted for a moment, we'll never know. That child may have been one of those "really fast ones", saw something new to do, yet no comprehension of danger. He didn't know that the floor he was crawling on didn't continue.

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I hope what happened was a fluke. Some toddlers can move in a flash. Was Dad negligent? We'll never know. Was the child in sight and Dad got distracted for a moment, we'll never know. That child may have been one of those "really fast ones", saw something new to do, yet no comprehension of danger. He didn't know that the floor he was crawling on didn't continue.

 

If he is a "really fast one" perhaps Dad shouldn't have let him crawl around on an open deck? This is the exact purpose of those stupid tethers.

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Another example of parents not doing there job.

 

Unless you were there to see how it unfolded, you don't know that. Accidents can happen in an instant, even with parents right there.

 

So happy to hear the child has no major injuries. Christmas blessings!

 

My youngest child was one of those "really fast" toddlers, a climber, runner, and loved water, with NO fear. She was 18 months old when we took our other 3 children on their first cruise, but left her at home with relatives because I was too concerned about even the slightest possibility of something disastrous happening.

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If he is a "really fast one" perhaps Dad shouldn't have let him crawl around on an open deck? This is the exact purpose of those stupid tethers.

 

You mean a leash like a dog?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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