US News

Cruise ship rescues 16 people stranded in sea off Cuba

The crew of a Carnival cruise ship rescued 16 people from a small boat in distress in open seas near Cuba Friday as a dangerous tropical storm raged across the region.

The Mardi Gras cruise ship “spotted a small vessel in distress and stopped to help before 8 a.m. Friday morning as the ship headed toward Florida,” Carnival Cruise Lines said in a blog post. “They were then seen by medical staff onboard, and were given food and clothes.”

The blog did not identify any of the rescued, believed to be Cuban nationals, and said that they were transferred to the Coast Guard Friday afternoon.

The survivor, who were plucked from a small, overcrowded boat, included 11 men and five women, according to CBS News.

The cruise line told CNN that those who had identification were of Cuban nationality.

The rescue came around the same time the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for the region, with heavy rainfall and high seas expected Saturday.