After his daughter fell from the fourth deck of a 14-deck Disney Cruise ship on Sunday afternoon, a father jumped into the ocean to try to save her, according to witnesses.

Videos on social media showed passengers cheering as the two were safely recovered by a rescue boat. They were picked up after treading water for 10 minutes, according to witnesses.

The girl appeared to fall when her father took her picture against a railing, witnesses said. A man overboard alert was broadcast on the ship, and crew rushed to recover them.

"The ship was moving quickly, so quickly, it's crazy how quickly the people became tiny dots in the sea, and then you lost sight of them," passenger Laura Amador said.

"The captain slowed the ship and turned it around, and then they deployed a tender ship with people on it to go get them, and we saw them rescue the dad and daughter," she told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

The 4,000-person capacity Disney Dream, was returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after sailing for four days around the Bahamas.

Disney confirmed in a statement that two passengers were rescued, but offered few details about what occurred.

"The Crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water," a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said. "We commend our Crew Members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes.

"We watched it, you could see two little things...it was crazy, it was horrific," passenger Gar Frantz told NBC News, describing how he witnessed the two enter the ocean and nearly disappear into the horizon.

The incident took place on the last day of the cruise, and the ship returned to port in Florida as normal.

While it is rare for passengers to fall from cruise ships, rescues are not often successful when they do.

According to a Cruise Lines International Association report from 2019, external, 25 people fell overboard that year from cruise ships and only nine were saved from the water.

Disney Dream departing Port Canaveral, Florida, in September 2016
History
Bahamas
Name	Disney Dream
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Operator	Disney Cruise Line
Port of registry	Bahamas
Ordered	February 22, 2007
Builder	Meyer Werft
Cost	US$900 million
Yard number	S. 687
Laid down	August 19, 2009
Launched	October 30, 2010[1]
Sponsored by	Jennifer Hudson
Christened	January 19, 2011
Completed	December 8, 2010
Maiden voyage	January 26, 2011
In service	2011–present
Identification	IMO number: 9434254 MMSI number: 311042900 Callsign: C6YR6
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class & type	Dream-class (Disney) cruise liner[2]
Tonnage	129,690 GT[3]
Displacement	65,298 t (64,267 long tons; 71,979 short tons)[3]
Length	1,114.7 ft (339.8 m)[3]
Beam	121.4 ft (37.0 m)[4]
Height	217 ft (66 m)[3]
Draft	27.3 ft (8.32 m)[4]
Decks	18 (14 passenger)
Installed power	3 × 12-cylinder MAN diesels turning 14.4 MW (19,300 hp) generators 2 × 14-cylinder MAN diesels turning 16.8 MW (22,500 hp) generators[3]
Propulsion	2 × 23 MW (31,000 hp) Converteam motors turning 5-blade inward-turning fixed-pitch propellers[3]
Speed	Service: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) Maximum: 24.7 knots (45.7 km/h; 28.4 mph)
Capacity	4,000 passengers (maximum)[5]