A young woman in a wheelchair, who was being assisted by a relative, went over the side of a dock in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and plunged into the ocean with her chair. Fortunately, Randall Donovan Jr. and DJ Kashief Hamilton jumped into the water after the Carnival Cruise passenger and rescued her.
Hamilton told CNN that he was aboard a cruise ship docked at St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, playing music when he heard a loud scream.
He stopped the music and saw his friend, Randolph Donovan, and others running. Donanvan jumped 3m off the dock and into the water and managed to free the woman from her chair.
CNN reported that Donovan said, ‘I got her out of her wheelchair. Someone on the dock threw down a life preserver’.
Then 33-year-old Hamilton jumped in to help his friend, who was kicking hard and trying to keep himself and the woman afloat. ‘I can’t go no more,’ Donovan said to Hamilton.
With the help of other people standing on the dock, they managed to pull the woman out of the water, which was reportedly between 10 and 12m deep.
The pair of friends have been called heroes, who put themselves at risk to save the woman, as the cruise liner could potentially have pushed against the dock at any time, if gusts of wind buffeted the waves, which would have crushed all three of them.
According to Hamilton and Donovan, the US Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. phoned them and said, ‘On behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, I want to say thank you.’
A spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Line told CNN, ‘The guest was seen by our medical team and did not sustain injuries. A complimentary replacement wheelchair has been provided for the duration of the cruise.’
The cruise line did not reveal the name of the passenger.
Picture: Jennings Harris/Facebook video
