3-year-old girl slips through cruise ship rail, falls down 2 decks of stairs

GALVESTON, TX -- A Carnival cruise ship returned to Galveston just hours after its departure after a three-year-old girl fell down a flight of stairs, according to the company.

SkyEye was over the scene as the Carnival Liberty docked and a paramedics loaded the girl into an ambulance.

Sources tell abc13 a family from College Station was posing for family pictures by the rail when their young daughter somehow slipped through the rail and fell down the stairs from the 14th deck to the 12th deck.

A Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said medical personnel took the girl to the ship's medical center for evaluation, and from there, a decision was made to return back to shore and transfer the child to a hospital. The spokesperson said the girl was alert and stable at the time she was transported.

The ship has already left Galveston and will modify its schedule based on the delayed departure.

We've got a crew headed to the scene and we'll bring you the latest developments on this story.