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Footage has revealed the moment a man frantically waves to rescue crews after falling overboard a cruise ship on Thanksgiving Day.

The 28-year-old passenger was reported missing from the Carnival Valor after plunging into the Gulf of Mexico.

He can be seen desperately attempting to attract the attention of emergency workers while trying to stay afloat in the vast expanse of water.

The man had been stranded for more than 24 hours when he was hoisted to safety by the US Coastguard in what has been hailed as a ‘Thanksgiving miracle’.

He disappeared from the cruise ship around 2.30pm local time on Wednesday before being rescued around 20 miles off Southern Pass in the US state of Louisiana on Thursday around 8.30pm.

The man was spotted by the crew of a bulk carrier called Crinis before aircraft crews were dispatched to help.

He was treated by medics at New Orleans Lakefront Airport and is said to be in a stable condition in spite of his ordeal.

Lieutenant Seth Gross, mission coordinator of the US Coast Guard Sector New Orleans search and rescue team, said: ‘We are beyond grateful that this ended with a positive outcome.

‘It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety.

‘If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel Crinis, this case could have had a much more difficult ending.’

Lt Gross said the rescue mission was ‘unlike anything I’ve been part of.’

‘I think it kind of blows the norm, the normalcy, out of the water here, and really just shows the will to live is something that you need to account for in every search-and-rescue case,’ he told CNN.

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