Pianist on cruise ship falls into ocean, rescued after 9 hours: 'Survived thanks to crazy El Niño'

A pianist from a cruise ship fell into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and was rescued after nine hours by fishermen, who said he survived thanks to the warm ocean waters due to the El Niño phenomenon.

A pianist working on the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas fell into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California over the weekend, and was rescued after nine hours by two fishermen. The man, whose name has not been released, fell from the deck around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, and fishermen Sean Norton and Grant Garrett located him near Catalina Island, about 32 km from shore. The fishermen said the man only said, "Thank you, I thought I was going to die." One fisherman estimated the pianist survived thanks to the unusually warm water temperature, about 24°C, due to the strong El Niño phenomenon. The circumstances of the fall are still being investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard, and Royal Caribbean confirmed the incident but did not provide further details.