The Cuban nationals were rescued from the wooden boat about 20 miles west of Cuba (Picture: Bart Wester)
A massive Carnival cruise ship turned around and rescued more than two dozen Cuban nationals after seeing them signaling from help from a small wooden boat.
The boat was adrift in bad condition with a makeshift sail when crew aboard the Carnival Paradise spotted it about 20 miles west of Cuba on Sunday, reported Fox News.
Cruise crew veered off their route from Tampa, Florida, to Roatan, Honduras, and pulled all 27 Cubans on board at roughly 2.30pm.
The Cubans were all examined by medics on board and provided with food.
Cruise staff notified the US Coast Guar Sector Key West.
Despite the detour, the cruise reached its port at Mahogany Bay in Roatan on time, stated Carnival. The cruise is set to make another stop to Cozumel, Mexico, on Tuesday before returning to Tampa on Thursday.
It was not immediately known if the Cuban nationals stayed or are staying on board until the cruise reaches Florida or whether they disembarked at a port.
It is not the only out-of-the-ordinary incident involving a cruise ship recently.
Last week, a pregnant passenger aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship was airlifted by a US Coast Guard helicopter when she began experiencing medical complications.
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