Passengers on a Caribbean cruise have told how their ship was diverted to rescue a pilot and passenger whose plane had crashed into the ocean.
The two people drifting in the middle of the Caribbean Sea were picked up by cruise ship the Regal Princess's life raft and brought aboard safely to the cheers of tourists watching from the top deck.
Shortly after noon local time on Tuesday, a plane went down near Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos.
As the authorities scrambled to coordinate a rescue, they realised the Regal Princess was in the area making its way to the island of St Thomas.
Sending an aircraft to the crash site, the US Coast Guard also called on the Regal Princess to help, the company Princess Cruises said on Twitter.
Passengers and crew reported on the incident minute-by-minute on social media.
John Becker, a 49-year-old businessman on holiday with his wife, said the first passengers knew of the drama was when the pilot came on the tannoy at 12.40pm announcing a "man overboard".
"Every 15 minutes the captain updated us. He stated the overboard was not from our ship, but an airplane crash into the water," Mr Becker told the Standard.
"About 1.20pm or so, the horn blew on the ship indicating the raft had been spotted. The lifeboat was deployed and the survivors were quickly saved.
"It was exciting to see, and everyone cheered," he added.
Video footage taken by Mr Becker from the top deck shows the lifeboat carving through the waves to the stricken pilot and his passenger before bringing them back as tourists looked on.
The captain told passengers the pilot and passenger were receiving medical assistance, but "appeared to be OK", said Mr Becker.
Confirming the incident on Twitter, Princess Cruises wrote: "A small plane crashed in the Caribbean Sea, and the @USCG called on our Regal Princess crew to assist with the rescue.
"We're happy to report both people are now safely onboard as the ship continues to St Thomas."
