A viral incident from the summer of 2022 shows a massive brawl that broke out on a cruise as it was returning from an eight-day Caribbean excursion with stops in Dominicana, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. However, as the Carnival Magic cruise was nearing the end of the trip, returning to its final destination in New York City, chaos erupted in the ship’s nightclub.
At approximately 5:20 a.m., a large fight broke out in the middle of the dance floor. Footage shows dozens of people punching and shoving each other violently. While a large crowd of patrons surrounding the fight blocks the view of the individual recording, a myriad of punches can be seen amid a sea of frantic shouting and panic.
Several passengers on the cruise can be seen standing around the perimeter of the fight, recording the incident alongside the cameraperson in the video. Notably, the security personnel in the footage seem to passively stand outside the conflict, seemingly unsure of how to quell the ensuing brawl. Another angle of the violence shows what is presumably how the fight started, where a group of women begin attacking each other while security tries to stop it.
In the aftermath of the brawl, The Daily Mail reported that the Coast Guard had to escort the ship back to shore, where NYPD opened a probe into the incident. According to the outlet, the conflict originated between two individuals on the dance floor before it escalated into the full-blown melee seen in the video involving as many as 40-60 passengers. Miraculously, no serious injuries were reported despite the extreme violence observed in the clip.
One witness described the skirmish which occurred when he was “at the bar listening to my own music sipping a shirley temple, then the brawl broke out of nowhere!” He said that some patrons were “injured and cut up from glass,” and the clash quickly escalated out of control, causing “most if not all” of the ship’s security guards to focus their resources on the nightclub.
The passenger suggested that those involved in the fight sought to manifest an exciting ending to their nautical travels, ultimately earning them permanent bans from such vacations in the future. They further stated, “It was the last night so i guess they wanted to go out with a bang, but a lifetime ban from cruising is wild lol.”
Pix11 reported on a statement released by Carnival explaining the matter. “Last night while Carnival Magic was returning to New York, a number of guests were involved in an altercation in a nightclub. Thankfully no serious injuries were reported and our onboard security team intervened,” the message read. “The ship arrived as scheduled this morning and shoreside law enforcement authorities were notified and met the ship to interview suspects and witnesses and conduct an investigation.” Watch the fight below:
Allegedly, the ambiguous location of the ship made it difficult to ascertain how a criminal investigation of the incident should proceed. As the vessel was approaching the New York harbor it was unclear if it was in New York, New Jersey, or international waters. Subsequent reports at the time indicated that no arrests had been made.
Note: The featured image is a screenshot of the embedded video.
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