Rescue crews continued to search for a cruise ship entertainment employee who fell from the Carnival cruise ship Sensation as he was celebrating the New Year. Six co-workers saw the man, whose name is not being released, fall from the ship, the cruise company said in a statement.

It marked a solemn ending for what passengers described as an otherwise pleasant four-day cruise to the Bahamas. It was the second fall from a cruise ship in a week. "It seemed like the whole ship was somber this morning," said Maureen Fitzpatrick, a passenger from Connecticut. "You're hoping things turn around for this man. You hope that it turns out for the best."

Search planes and helicopters returned to base at dusk Thursday, but the U.S. Coast Guard planned to continue its search on boats throughout the night, Petty Officer James Harless said. Searchers use a system based on wind conditions, ocean currents and the location where the man went overboard to determine where to look, Harless said. From there, guardsmen follow currents and perform search patterns over the sea.

The chances of the man surviving depend on a number of factors, such as the water temperatures, wave conditions and the man's age and health, Harless said. Ocean temperature was about 72 degrees, but the man did not have a life jacket to help with the 7- to- 8-foot waves.

Accidental Fall

Carnival said the fall was "clearly an accidental overboard." It occurred about 20 miles east of Vero Beach. "Our thoughts and prayers are with this young man at this time as well as with his friends and family," the company statement said.

Passengers told FLORIDA TODAY the crew member was a singer with a band that had performed on the top deck of the Carnival Sensation. They said he was trying to take a picture when he went overboard.

Laura Martin, a passenger from upstate New York, said she and her three daughters were leaving the bandstand area on the ship when the incident occurred. A group of off-duty crew members had been dancing with other passengers, ringing in the New Year, she said. "They were having fun," she said. "It was very sad." She said she saw a commotion involving several young women on the entertainment crew. She said they yelled down to other crew members, who immediately went into action to try to rescue the man who went overboard.

Another passenger, Diego Friedmann of Uruguay, said the crew started throwing life jackets to the man. Three vests were thrown, but the man was not able to reach any of them, he said.

Sensation crew began search-and-rescue activities and contacted all authorities, including the Coast Guard. The Sensation was released by the Coast Guard at 6 a.m. and returned back to Port Canaveral at 9:30 a.m.

Sara Tyner of Tampa recalled hearing the ship's captain calling to crew over the ship's speaker system shortly after the incident. "There was panic in his voice," she said. "This was totally different" from other communications from the captain.

Tyner said the staff was professional as it cleared passengers from the deck. Meanwhile, passengers said they saw bright lights and helicopters scanning the water while watching the search from their cabin windows.

"Security did everything they could," said Bryce Anderson, a passenger from Kentucky.

Sensation has 920 crew members and more than 1,000 staterooms with capacity for more than 2,000 passengers.