A fight that broke out between dozens of people on board a vessel was, according to a witness, caused by jealousy over a trio of passengers.
A travel agent who witnessed the failure told Fox News that the uproar began over allegations of fraud – especially an alleged trio that then upset the participants’ respective partners.
Video of the fracas depicted a chaotic scene when between 40 and 60 passengers started hitting and pushing each other.
Although the initial disagreement between two passengers was on the nightclub dance floor, it quickly got out of control with more and more people stepping in.
The battle took place on the last night of the ship’s eight-day Caribbean voyage with stops in the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas.
Theresa James said the fighting started just before 2 a.m. and lasted for an entire hour in an area where the ship’s nightclub and casino were located.
Bottles were smashed and a woman was also cut in the melee, although no serious injuries were reported.
The battle eventually moved around the ship from the fifth floor to the first floor, all the while some ship security guards tried to break the battle where they could – however, they were significantly less.
This prompted the Coast Guard to escort the ship back to the dock and the NYPD to open an investigation.
Massive fighting broke out early Tuesday at the Carnival Magic near New York when it ended its eight-day Caribbean voyage when fighting broke out in the ship’s nightclub
It turned out that the fight was unleashed after some passengers were involved in a trio that then infuriated their significant others, resulting in about 40 to 60 people being involved in the attack.
A big fight broke out in the nightclub of the Carnival Magic on Tuesday around 05:20, on the last night of the ship’s eight-day Caribbean voyage
Video of the fracas shows a chaotic scene as dozens of passengers punch and punch each other
James explained how the guests involved in the fight were, in her words, ‘ignorant fools acting stupid’.
She praised the security team for jumping into the middle of the fight and finally calming things down.
One witness tweets under the handle @ nieem0said he was ‘at the bar listening to my own music and drinking a Shirley Temple, then the fight broke out out of nowhere!’
He added that some of the passengers were ‘injured and cut out of glass’ and that ‘most if not all’ of the ship’s security guards descended on 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 lifelong ban on sailing is wild lol.’
The fighting took place when the ship approached the port in New York, but it is unclear whether the vessel was in New York, New Jersey or international waters at the time of the battle, which made criminal jurisdictional issues obscure.
No arrests were reported in the aftermath of the fight, and it was unclear which agency would lead the investigation.
After the fight, officers from the vessel notified the Coast Guard, who launched a boat from Staten Island to escort it to dock in Manhattan, according to WNBC-TV.
The fight started as an altercation between two passengers on the dance floor, and police say it has spread to a fight involving as many as 40 to 60 passengers.
A security guard who had fewer numbers seemed helpless to stop the fighting when it first broke out. Eyewitnesses say security personnel flooded the nightclub to intervene
The Carnival Magic (seen in a file photo) was concluding an eight-day Caribbean cruise with stops in Dominicana, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas
The ship moored without incident at Pier 88, where police and paramedics were waiting to greet it.
Cruise officials notified the Coast Guard, which launched a small boat from Staten Island to escort the ship the rest of the way to its 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 scheduled port call.
“Last night while Carnival Magic was returning to New York, a number of guests were involved in an altercation at a nightclub,” the statement read.
“Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported and our on-board security team intervened,” said the vessel.
After the battle, officers of the vessel notified the Coast Guard, who launched a boat from Staten Island to escort it to dock (above) in Manhattan
The ship moored without incident at Pier 88, where police and paramedics were waiting to greet it
“The ship arrived as scheduled this morning and coastal law enforcement agencies were notified and met the ship to interrogate suspects and witnesses and conduct an investigation,” Carnival’s statement added.
Police said passengers gradually got off without incident.
According to CruiseMapper, the Carnival Magic has already departed from New York on another eight-day Caribbean cruise.
Stops are scheduled in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos.