Cruise With Pittsburgh Sports Figures Aboard Picks Up 16 Migrants – NBCNews.com
A Carnival Cruise ship hosting Pittsburgh athletes and sports fans picked up 16 migrants believed to be Cubans in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Carnival Corporation.
The Carnival Sensation, while hosting a group participating in the “2016 Legends of Pittsburgh Cruise,” picked up 15 males and one female “from a vessel in distress” while en route from Key West, Florida, to Cozumel, Mexico, according to the cruise line.
Related: Disney Cruise Ship Rescues 12 Cuban Migrants in Caribbean
The incident occurred approximately 50 miles off the northern coast of Cuba, Carnival said.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios said the migrants would be transported to Cozumel “where Mexican authorities are waiting.”
The incident got attention when Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who was aboard the four-day cruise, posted pictures of the incident online.
“We just stopped for this boat with 16 people in the middle of the ocean,” Harrison wrote on Twitter. “Wild!!!”
Organizers said Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell, wide receiver Antonio Brown and many former Steelers players would also be on board the ship.
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