In an update to this unfolding story, the Broward Sheriff’s Office has now issued an additional statement saying the 5-year-old girl who fell overboard from Disney Cruise Line ship the Disney Dream was sitting on the ship’s railing and fell through a porthole.
Disney Dream – Disney Cruise Ship Overboard Incident
A Disney Cruise Ship overboard incident that look place on June 29, 2025 involved a child falling from the fourth floor of the Disney Dream. We previously reported yesterday that the child was not sitting on a ledge after the BSO issued a statement to CBS News Miami that the child “was not sitting on the ledge or being held up over it.” However, the detectives noted that the incident was still under investigation.
How Did the Girl Fall Overboard on the Disney Cruise?
In a more recent statement from this afternoon, the BSO has now updated their description of what they believe happened during this incident. According to their new statement, “a 5-year-old girl lost her balance while sitting on a railing and falling backward through a porthole.” As reported by local news station WKMG, the incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. on June 29, as the ship was returning from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale.
Along the deck 4 walkway, there are some large portholes as well as the more standard railing. Like the railing, the portholes have some some short bars to keep guests from leaning too far over. However, they do not cover the whole porthole, and the upper section is open. Since they are mostly rounded, it would also not be difficult for a smaller child to climb on one. Above is an example image of one of these portholes on the Disney Dream, though not the particular one involved in the incident.
The new BSO statement also added “After the girl’s mother alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter.” The rest of the statement follows most of the eyewitness information from our previous article. The father jumped into the water after his daughter fell and held her until crew members were able to rescue them.
The father and daughter were both checked by the ship’s medical staff, and they were both transported to a hospital by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue once the ship arrived at Port Everglades. The father was later hospitalized, according to the latest statement, though details of his injury were not revealed.
The BSO statement added that personal details of the family are not being released for their privacy, but notes that they live out of state, “The family lives out of state. For the family’s continued privacy, detectives are not releasing their names, where they live, or the details of the father’s injury.”
The statement concludes with a paragraph saying that the investigation will still continue, “BSO detectives have reviewed the ship’s security video, which corroborates the statements from the family and cruise ship staff. The investigation into this matter continues. This family is so blessed. It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome.”
Stay tuned to WDWNT for the latest updates.
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