• The crew of the Carnival Fantasy worked with the US Coast Guard to rescue 23 people who were adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for at least 3 days.
  • A wooden fishing boat lost power over the weekend, leaving 22 stranded in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • They were picked up by a man in a fishing boat, but his boat’s engines failed.
  • All 23 were brought onto the Carnival cruise ship, and two were treated for “minor medical issues.”
  • On Tuesday, the 23 will be brought to US Customs and Border Protection and Coast Guard Investigative Services in Mobile, Alabama.
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On Sunday crew of the Carnival Fantasy worked with the US Coast Guard to rescue 23 people who were adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for at least three days.

“On Sunday morning, Carnival Fantasy responded to a distress call and request for assistance from the US Coast Guard as the ship was returning to Mobile,” a spokesperson for Carnival confirmed to INSIDER. “We can confirm that our crew was involved in a rescue at sea involving more than 20 people.”

In a statement provided to CBS-affiliated WKRG, the US Coast Guard said it was first contacted by passengers aboard the fishing boat on Sunday. According to the agency, 22 people from Cuba became stranded en route to Mexico when the wooden boat they were traveling on lost power.

Read more: Passengers were trapped in a cruise ship elevator for nearly an hour. Now, they claim Carnival banned them from sailing on the cruise line.

The 22 people had already been adrift for three days when they were picked up by a Cuban-Mexican national in a fishing boat. But the engine of the second boat malfunctioned, leaving all 23 aboard stranded for an additional three days, according to the statement.

The brother of someone on the fishing boat alerted the Coast Guard to the situation. The Coast Guard then launched its search and notified the Carnival Fantasy of the situation.

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Early Sunday morning, the Coast Guard located the fishing vessel. And so the cruise ship diverted from its course. The cruise ship met the fishing boat 130 nautical miles off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and brought the 23 aboard. Of those rescued, two were treated for "minor medical issues."

Per the statement, on Tuesday, the 23 will be brought to US Customs and Border Protection and Coast Guard Investigative Services in Mobile, Alabama.

A spokesperson for Carnival told INSIDER that cruise line is "now working closely with federal authorities."