Cruise ship brawl erupts at Carnival Magic dance club with up to 60 passengers battling: Coast Guard escorts ship to NYC dock
A huge brawl broke out early Tuesday on the Carnival Magic off the coast of New York as it was wrapping up its eight-day Caribbean cruise when the brawl broke out.
Two people started arguing on the nightclub dance floor and the altercation quickly got out of hand
Video shows an outnumbered security guard helpless to stop the big brawl
After the battle, the Coast Guard escorted the ship to dock in Manhattan
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A massive brawl has broken out on a cruise ship returning to New York City, prompting the Coast Guard to escort the ship back to port and the NYPD to open a probe.
The fight kicked off at the Carnival Magic’s nightclub at 5:20 a.m. Tuesday, on the final night of the ship’s eight-day Caribbean cruise with stops in Dominicana, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas.
Video of the brawl shows a chaotic scene as dozens of passengers punch and push each other, while an outnumbered ship’s guard tries unsuccessfully to end the fight.
The brawl started as an altercation between two passengers on the dance floor, and police say it turned into a fight involving as many as 40 to 60 passengers, police said. PIX11† No serious injuries were reported.
A major brawl broke out at the Carnival Magic’s nightclub at about 5:20 a.m. on Tuesday, on the final night of the ship’s eight-day Caribbean cruise.
Video of the brawl shows a chaotic scene as dozens of passengers punch and push each other
A witness, twittering under the handle @nyeem0said he was ‘siting at the bar listening to my own music, sipping on a shirley temple, and then the brawl broke out out of the blue!’
He added that some passengers were “injured and cut from glass” and that “most if not all” of the ship’s guards came to the club to restore order.
The witness added: ‘It was the last night so I think they wanted to go out with a bang, but a lifetime ban on cruising is wild lol.’
The brawl took place as the ship approached New York harbor, but it’s unclear whether the ship was in New York, New Jersey or international waters at the time of the battle, obscuring criminal jurisdiction issues.
No arrests were reported in the aftermath of the fight and it was unclear which agency would lead the investigation.
After the battle, cruise line officials notified the Coast Guard, which launched a boat from Staten Island to escort it to Manhattan, according to WNBC TV†
The Carnival Magic (seen in a file photo) concluded an eight-day Caribbean cruise with stops in Dominicana, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas
The brawl started as an altercation between two passengers on the dance floor, and police say it turned into a fight involving as many as 40 to 60 passengers.
An outnumbered guard seemed helpless to stop the brawl when it first broke out. Witnesses say security personnel flooded the nightclub to intervene
The ship docked without incident at Pier 88, where police and paramedics were waiting to greet it.
Cruise officials notified the Coast Guard, who launched a small Staten Island boat to escort the ship the rest of the way to the Pier 88 dock.
The NYPD initially described the incident as an “emergency dock,” but Carnival said in a statement to PIX11 that it was a planned port call.
“Last night, when Carnival Magic returned to New York, a number of guests were involved in an altercation at a nightclub,” the statement read.
Fortunately, no serious injuries have been reported and our onboard security team has intervened,” said the cruise line.
After the battle, cruise line officials notified the Coast Guard, who launched a Staten Island boat to escort it to (upper) Manhattan.
The ship docked without incident at Pier 88, where police and paramedics were waiting to greet it
“The ship arrived as scheduled this morning and law enforcement agencies ashore were notified and met with the ship to question suspects and witnesses and to conduct an investigation,” Carnival’s statement said.
Police said passengers gradually disembarked without incident.
According to CruiseMapperCarnival Magic has already departed New York for another eight-day Caribbean cruise.
Stops are scheduled in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos.