Cruise captain’s chilling 6-word alert after individual fell overboard on strategy to UK
A passenger on the MSC Virtuosa has revealed the chilling six-word message put out by the captain after losing a person overboard.
The Maltese-flagged vessel had been bound for Southampton in the UK when the incident occurred. On Saturday (October 12), search and rescue teams confirmed that the body of a woman had been found by the French Navy at around 3am, after roughly an hour of searching.
One passenger says they watched the whole thing play out while aboard the Virtuosa, an 18-deck vessel owned by MSC Cruises. They recounted the moment the captain warned those aboard of what had happened with the chilling six-word announcement, saying: “Man overboard, man overboard, man overboard”.
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The passenger spoke to the Mirror but wished to remain anonymous. She said: “The announcement happened at 12.55am UK time. I had just got back to the cabin after having some food, and it was three long beeps.”
(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)
“I thought it would go to seven, which signals an emergency, but it was three long beeps and the captain said ‘man overboard, man overboard, man overboard’.”
According to the same outlet, the passenger said the announcement was the loudest they had “ever heard on the ship”.
The captain said they were still looking for the person who had fallen overboard and added: “Our thoughts are with the family at the moment”.
(Image: Supplied)
The captain said that the journey time would be delayed and then started to turn the ship around.
They said staff worked hard to assist in the rescue effort, despite noting the “whole sea was black”.
MSC confirmed that a passenger fell over the edge. The statement read: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton. The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time. Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.”
