NEED TO KNOW
- A Carnival Cruise passenger is opening up about the moment he pulled a “lifeless” body out of the water at Celebration Key, a newly opened luxury resort in The Bahamas, on Friday, August 15
- The “unresponsive” 79-year-old had been snorkelling, and Arkansas resident John Kopta helped to bring him out of the water along with another man
- In a separate incident, a 74-year-old woman also drowned at the resort after becoming unresponsive while swimming on another Carnival Cruise ship
A Carnival Cruise passenger is speaking out about the moment he pulled a “lifeless” snorkeler out of the water at a newly opened luxury private resort in the Bahamas.
Shortly before noon local time on Friday, Aug. 15, police were alerted to an incident at Celebration Key, where they discovered an “unresponsive” 79-year-old man, the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) previously said in a news release shared on Facebook.
The unidentified American tourist was snorkeling at a beach before he became unresponsive and had to be removed from the water by a lifeguard. Despite CPR being administered, the man was soon pronounced dead by a medical doctor, per the news release.
Arkansas resident John Kopta and another man helped bring the man out of the water after spotting him at the bottom of the shallow ocean not moving.
“I’m a dad, a grandpa and once the adrenaline kicks in, you’re not thinking anything,” Kopta recalled to CBS-affiliated station 5News.
Kopta added to the outlet, “My wife and I hopped off and I ran over there about the same time [the other man] got there, and we went down. He grabbed him by the arms, brought him up. I grabbed his legs, brought him up, and he was lifeless at that point.”
He told the station that he thought emergency services “did everything they could” in a bid to try and save the man.
“At one point, there was 10 lifeguards surrounding, you know, making a perimeter, and all the ones were working on him, and the EMTs came with the sirens on the ATVs on the sand, and I thought they did everything they could,” Kopta shared.
Kopta insisted that all he and his wife thought they could do in that moment was pray, and questioned whether they’d missed something before the man drowned.
“I don’t think there was, I don’t think there was anything that he did that showed that he was drowning,” Kopta added, sending his condolences to the man’s family.
PEOPLE has reached out to Kopta for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
In another incident shortly after 2:30 p.m. the same day, officers discovered an “unresponsive” 74-year-old woman on board a separate cruise ship.
“The initial report suggests that the female became unresponsive while swimming in a pool,” police said in the release. The unidentified American woman was given CPR at the scene, but also died.
The two tourists had been traveling on separate Carnival Cruise ships at Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island at the time of the incidents.
Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE, “Our lifeguards and medical team responded to two separate water emergency incidents at Celebration Key on Friday — one in the lagoon and one at the beach.
“Sadly, both guests have passed away. One guest was sailing with family on Mardi Gras and one guest was sailing with family on Carnival Elation,” the statement continued.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the guests and their families and our Care Team is providing assistance,” they added.
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Carnival Cruise Line’s private $600 million travel destination, Celebration Key, opened on July 19, per the New York Post.
The luxury resort includes a beach club, swimming pools, bars, restaurants and activities for both adults and children, according to its website.
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