A man who survived jumping off a cruise ship admitted that it had actually been a spectacularly bad idea and that he ‘didn’t really think it through’.
Nick Naydev, an American man, willingly made the leap and was filmed by his friends in an attempt to go viral, but he very nearly plunged himself into a watery grave. The incident occurred on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Symphony of the Seas while it was docked in Nassau, Bahamas.
In a bid for social media fame, Naydev jumped from the 11th floor of the cruise ship, a height of approximately 100 feet, into shark-infested waters below. Fortunately, he managed to avoid serious injury, although he did feel the impact in his tailbone and neck.
“I remember hitting the water, impact was pretty big ’cause it was pretty high up. It impacted my tailbone and my neck pretty hard, luckily it wasn’t anything serious,” Naydev later admitted to Inside Edition. “Nothing was really going through my mind. I’m like, ‘I gotta do this,’ and just two seconds later, I just jumped and didn’t really think it through.”
Naydev, who was 27 at the time, also revealed that he had been heavily drinking the night before the stunt. He stressed that he did not want others to follow his example, acknowledging the danger and recklessness of his actions. “I hope I don’t inspire anybody to do this because it is very dangerous, I mean they’ll think this is a joke,” he said.
Royal Caribbean swiftly banned Naydev and his friends from their cruises for life, labelling the stunt as ‘stupid and reckless’. The company also indicated that they were exploring legal action against Naydev.
Footage of the aftermath showed Naydev casually swimming in the ocean, seemingly unbothered by the near-death experience. A lifeboat was nearby and quickly came to his assistance, ensuring his safety.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of such reckless behaviour. When someone goes overboard from a cruise ship, the chances of survival are slim, and extensive safety procedures are in place to deal with such emergencies. Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky as Naydev. Other passengers who have fallen overboard have not survived, and recent incidents have highlighted the perilous nature of such actions.
In another tragic event, a three-day ‘party’ cruise ended in disaster when an Australian man fell overboard and died. Authorities later recovered his body after battling through ‘very rocky and windy’ conditions.
Naydev’s experience underscores the importance of adhering to safety protocols and the potentially fatal consequences of seeking social media fame through dangerous stunts.
