Two Celebrity crew members apparently jumped from the Celebrity Summit cruise ship earlier this week. Canadian fire-rescue and coast guard departments rescued them both from the cold Saint Lawrence River.

Several newspapers reported that the crew menbers apparently jumped into the river in Quebec City early on  Monday morning. Le Soleil newspaper reported that the fiirst crew member, a 27 year old man, jumped into the river from the Celebrity Summit cruise ship, which had been moored at the Port of Quebec since Sunday. The incident occurred around 5:40 a.m., and the crew member was sighted by patrolmen from the Port of Quebec near the cruise terminal. A patrol officer went down the quay ladder, and rescued the ship employee.

The temperature of the river was reportedly about 13 ° celsius and the crew member was hypothermic when rescued.

The Canadian Coast Guard rescued the second crew member, a 36 year old man, around 7 a.m. after he drifted with the current around 5 kilometers down the river.  He also suffered from hypothermia.

Both men were taken to the hospital after they were rescued. According to TVA Nouvelles, the men are believed to be from Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates. It is believed that they may have attempted to immigrate into Canada illegally.

It seems probable that these crew members were not permitted to leave the cruise ship at this port of call and made a decision to literally “jump ship” while the ship was still in port. The Summit left Quebec City later that Monday afternoon. It is unknown whether the cruise line returned the employees to the ship or whether the men remained in the hospital with the intention of flying them back to their respetcive counties when they were released from medical care.

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Photo credit: The Sun, Patrice LaRoche via Le Soleil.