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Elderly British Woman Lost At Sea After Falling Overboard During Queen Mary 2 Caribbean Cruise

By Jonathan Brown
Published on: 11:10 PST, Dec 23, 2016

A search for an elderly cruise enthusiast is currently underway after it was said she fell overboard during a trip to the Caribbean.

The victim, 74, was purportedly among a group of travelers who boarded the famed Queen Mary 2 cruise liner outside of New York in Southampton to St. Maarten early Thursday morning, so says the Daily Mail. At around 1 a.m. that evening, several passengers alerted crew members to rumors of the woman going missing by possibly falling off the ship. As a result, captains of the sea vehicle immediately turned it around in hopes of “backtracking” its steps and rescuing the passenger.

Owners of the Queen Mary 2, Cunard Cruise Line, corroborated the feasible outcome for the 74-year-old, who they say is a “frequent passenger” with the company, with a statement Friday afternoon.

“We can confirm that Queen Mary 2 has altered course to search for a missing guest, presumed overboard,” a spokesperson said.

“The ship left New York yesterday, on a 12-night Caribbean itinerary. Cunard’s care team is offering all support to [her] family.”

Petty Officer David Micallef of the U.S. Coast Guard relayed to the media that the military branch was also part of the search, first scouring for the woman 100 nautical miles south of Atlantic City, where they first picked up the Queen Mary 2’s distress call.

“The Coast Guard is actively searching for her,” he said, “and we’re sending out the resources that we can to assist in the search.”

As of Friday evening, the search for the Queen Mary 2 rider is still underway. The woman’s identity has not yet been made public.

In related news, police in Florida are still scouring for a troubled passenger who may have purposely jumped off of a Royal Caribbean ship.

queen mary 2
[Image by Matt Cardy/Stringer/Getty Images]

ABC News Miami reports that officials for the popular getaway brand have sided with several passengers’ takes of what occurred to a 22-year-old American man on board their “Independence of the Seas” vessel early Thursday morning.

According to Royal Caribbean, witnesses travelling with them saw the man toss himself over the side of deck 12 as the ship sailed near Key Largo.

“We are saddened to report that a guest on board Independence of the Seas was witnessed intentionally going overboard from deck 12 at around 1:45 a.m. this morning,” the company said in their own statement.

“Our Care Team is providing support to the family of the guest [and] our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.”

About five hours later, the Coast Guard of Miami took over Royal Caribbean’s search efforts with assistance from two lifeboats from the “Independence of the Seas” ship, but were unsuccessful. One of the cruise riders, Dominick Esposito, shared how he first heard the grim news with ABC News Miami.

“[The captain said] that one of the passengers threw himself over the 12th deck,” he stated, “and they had to stop and call for the Coast Guard. I guess they worked close to three hours with the Coast Guard, and then, finally, the Coast Guard told them to go back to their business.”

Another passenger, Rick Bartlow, took that line to mean that the young man may not be found alive.

“We’re praying for the family, of course,” he shared. “They’re the ones who are going to be hurt for now and forever.”

Like the woman from the Queen Mary 2, the man’s identity was not offered to the public. The Independence of the Seas cruise ship, which holds room for 3,634 passengers, was said to have made stops in Puerto Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, over five days, before returning to a Fort Lauderdale port on Friday. Police say that the search for the man is still ongoing.

[Featured Image by Oli Scarff/Getty Images]

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