The Coast Guard is investigating what sent a cruise ship employee overboard near the coast of Southern California over the weekend.
In a statement, the Coast Guard said it received a notification from a “good Samaritan who recovered a conscious individual from the water approximately 10 miles northeast of Avalon Harbor” on Friday.
Newport Beach Lifeguards responded to the call and rescued a man who they said was an employee of the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship, according to the Coast Guard.
The cruise ship employee was stable and was taken to a hospital in Santa Ana for medical evaluation and care, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard referred questions about the details of the rescue operation to Newport Beach Lifeguards.
A spokesperson for the city of Newport Beach said in a statement Monday that lifeguards responded and helped bring a person ashore after local fishermen “rescued an individual from the ocean about 10 to 15 miles offshore.”
On Sunday, Newport Beach Lifeguards Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda told KCBS-TV of Los Angeles that rescuers found the man “pretty much in the middle of the ocean.” He believed the cruise ship employee may have gone overboard nine hours before he was found.
The Ovation of the Seas is a 14-deck cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean. In service since 2016, it can accommodate more than 4,000 passengers and a crew of 1,550.
According to Royal Caribbean’s sailing schedule, , the Ovation of the Seas was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Friday following a four-night cruise with stops at Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico.
Two spokespeople for Royal Caribbean did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
Nicole Acevedo is a news reporter for NBC News.
Madison Lambert is an assignment editor at NBC News.