A FIVE-year-old girl plunged from a Disney Cruise ship, but shockingly, no alarm went off.
The accident unfolded on the Disney Dream during a four-night voyage to the Bahamas as the ship was heading back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Detectives later revealed the shocking reason that the child’s body was too small to set off the vessel’s man overboard sensors.
According to a newly released police report obtained by People, the girl toppled into the ocean after climbing onto a porthole railing to pose for a photo.
She fell backwards at 11:29 am on June 29.
Her father jumped in after her less than a minute later, finally setting off the MOB sensors.
The shipwide man overboard alert was broadcast at 11:31, sparking an urgent rescue response.
Disney crews launched rescue boats at 11:40 and reached the pair at 11:49.
Both were pulled from the water and taken to the ship’s medical center 10 minutes later.
They were treated for mild hypothermia before the father was transported to Broward Health Medical Center with additional injuries.
Detective Christopher Favitta of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in his report that the girl’s “small body figure did not trigger the MOB sensors.”
Disney officials previously praised “crew members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions.”
The report also included chilling details of the moments before the fall.
The girl’s mother pointed toward the railing, and her daughter climbed onto it before losing her balance.
Prosecutors later declined to pursue charges, saying the mother’s behavior was negligent but not criminal.
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 requires US cruise ships to use tech to detect passengers who go overboard “to the extent such technology is available.”
STRING OF DISNEY DEATHS
Oct 23 – Man dies after jumping from 12th floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel. Paid in cash for the room the night before.
Oct 21 – Guest in his 60s suffers a medical emergency at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and later dies at hospital.
Oct 16 – Disney superfan Summer Equitz, 31, dies in apparent suicide at the Contemporary Resort. She once worked at the park and was remembered as a lifelong devotee.
In 2020, the Cruise Line International Association and the International Organization for Standardization published guidelines for overboard systems.
The shocking case comes as Disney is already rocked by three deaths at its Florida resorts in just 10 days.
On Thursday, a man jumped to his death from the 12th floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel after paying for his room in cash.
Days earlier, a man in his 60s died after a medical emergency at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
And last week, Disney superfan Summer Equitz, 31, died in an apparent suicide at the same Contemporary hotel.
Equitz, a former Disney employee, had once described working at the park as her dream and was remembered as a lifelong devotee.
Her death prompted rumors online of a monorail accident, but deputies later called those claims false.
