A woman has tragically fallen overboard from a cruise ship shortly after it departed from Florida.
The 77-year-old pensioner is feared to have lost her life after the search operation was called off following several hours of searching, according to the US Coast Guard. She was aboard the Holland America Line cruise ship, Nieuw Statendam, which was sailing off the coast of Cuba when she went overboard, as revealed by authorities.
Crews were deployed on Thursday to search for her both by sea and air. They covered an area of 690 square miles but after around eight hours the search was called off, as reported by WFLA.
(Image: Getty Images)
Holland America Line initially stated: “The captain and crew initiated search and rescue procedures and are searching the area working closely with the US Coast Guard which has deployed a cutter and helicopter to assist.”
Later on Thursday, the Coast Guard announced it had suspended the search for the woman “pending the development of new information”. Ship records indicate that Nieuw Statendam set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 27 for a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise.
Due to the search operation, the ship’s scheduled stop at Key West, Florida, on Friday was cancelled, according to the cruise line. The Nieuw Statendam ship measures 975 feet in length and about 115 feet in width, and can accommodate nearly 2,700 guests, as per the company’s website.
Among the various trips offered by the cruise company aboard the ship is a seven-day Caribbean excursion priced at around $600.
The firm has been trading for more than 150 years and caters to over 300 ports across all seven continents.
It comes after a man died after falling out of a luxury yacht in the English Channel. An urgent search and rescue mission was launched following the incident, with the body being found a few hours later.
Reports from the coastguard found the man had fallen off a catamaran close to the Rampion Offshore Farm in Brighton on Sunday (November 30). A woman who was also on board is believed to have called the police, who alerted the other emergency services.
Since then, the boat was taken back to shore as the RNLI headed out into the Channel to find the missing man. The incident remained ongoing for some time as they rushed to try and find the man, the coastguard confirmed.
A statement from the local coastguard said the incident was first reported at 10.19am, with HM Coastguard receiving reports of a person overboard. It is believed the incident began on a vessel off the coast near Newhaven.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.