Cruise ship passenger ‘jumps overboard’ simply hours after girl dies on identical ship
A man believed to be in his seventies fell overboard while on a Carnival cruise ship mere hours after a woman died in a snorkelling tragedy while on board the same ship
Two tragic incidents have occurred on the same cruise(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
A man has fallen into the sea while onboard a popular cruise ship just hours after a fellow passenger died during a snorkelling excursion.
Video footage from an onboard CCTV camera appears to show the man scaling a safety barrier on board the ship before falling overboard, according to a spokesperson for the Carnival Cruise Line. The man, who is thought to be in his 70s, was onboard the Carnival Splendor, sailing off the coast of Australia when he fell around 30km from Moreton Island.
A spokesperson from Carnival Cruises explained that the man had been travelling with several family members, who raised the alarm after discovering he was missing.
Planes and boats had been deployed in a desperate search for the man, but the search was subsequently called off after he was not found.
A spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, who conducted the search, said: “Following an intensive air and sea search involving multiple assets, the missing person was not located and AMSA has now released all assets from tasking.”
A statement from Carnival Cruises said the relevant authorities had been notified following the fall and that it would fully cooperate with all investigations.
It read: “All appropriate authorities have been alerted, and Carnival will assist authorities in their investigation upon the ship’s return to Sydney.
“Carnival’s Care Team is supporting the guest’s family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones.
Shockingly, the incident was not the first tragedy involving the Carnvial Splendor, with a 67-year-old Australian woman dying while snorkelling on Friday (April 17).
The Tasmania woman was reportedly found unresponsive in the water on Friday morning, just hours before the man went overboard.
There are no suggestions that the two events are in any way connected.
While rare, cruise ship falls are incredibly dangerous and tragically can often prove fatal.
Out of the tens of millions of cruise ship passengers every year, there are usually around 25-30 incidents of people falling overboard, with just one in four people are estimated to survive.
Only last year, a 78-year-old Brit lost his life falling off the side of a cruise ship while visiting the Canary Islands.
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