Passengers on a Carnival Cruise have shared their memories of a brave individual who attempted to rescue one of the two American tourists at the cruise line’s newly opened $600 million private resort.
John Copta from Arkansas was enjoying a vacation at Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island when he and his wife went to explore the Caribbean beaches on August 15 around noon.
They noticed that fellow snorkelers underwater seemed to be unresponsive, prompting Copta to take action.
“I’m a dad, a grandpa, and when adrenaline kicks in, I don’t pause to think,” Copta recalled.
His wife quickly made her way to the aid of a 79-year-old man, pulling him from the water.
“I could see him and just thought, ‘Oh my God,’” Copta explained. He noted how they jumped in simultaneously, grabbing the man and pulling him up.
With a few others, they managed to get the man out of the water, where lifeguards and medical staff were waiting and began performing CPR.
“There were about ten lifeguards working on him. It felt like everything was in motion around him,” he said. “I started praying, asking, ‘Lord, please help this man.’ I feared he might have already been gone.”
Despite the efforts, the man was later pronounced dead by medical personnel.
This tragedy marked the first drowning incident of that day. Another American woman, 74, drowned in a freshwater lagoon later that afternoon.
Carnival confirmed both fatalities in their communication.
“Our lifeguards and medical teams responded to two separate water emergencies at Celebration Key on Friday: one in the lagoon and the other at the beach. Tragically, both guests did not survive,” a spokesperson for Carnival stated.
Both unnamed victims were vacationing with their families at the private resort. One was aboard the Mardi Gras, while the other was on a different Carnival ship.
Medical investigators on the island were set to conduct autopsies to clarify the specific causes of death.
The first fatality occurred less than a month after the lavish resort opened on July 19.
Known as “Key of Paradise,” Celebration Key is a luxurious destination exclusively for Carnival guests, featuring five major attractions, including “the largest freshwater lagoon in the Caribbean.”
The facility boasts a 275,000 square-foot lagoon and an 11,000 square-foot infinity pool at Pearl Cove Beach Club.
