66-year-old woman falls overboard from Royal Caribbean cruise ship off The Bahamas; search suspended
MIAMI - A 66-year-old woman fell overboard from a Taylor Swift-themed Royal Caribbean cruise ship off The Bahamas on Tuesday night, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said Wednesday aftenoon it was suspending its search.
#UPDATE #FINAL "We were informed by @TheRBDF this afternoon that they are suspending the active search efforts pending further developments & were no longer requesting further @USCG assistance,” said Lt. Connor Pascale, Coast Guard liaison officer.@USEmbassyNassau #SAR pic.twitter.com/Vnn0NqD8BZ
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) October 23, 2024
The agency assisted the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in the search for the woman, who fell from the Allure of the Seas around 9:40 p.m. when the ship was about 17 miles north of Nassau. The Coast Guard sent an HC-144 airplane crew and an MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter crew from Air Station Miami.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said its crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort and was working with local authorities.
"We are also providing support and assistance to the guest's family during this difficult time," the spokesperson said. "To respect the privacy of our guest's family, we have no additional details to share."
According to a Royal Caribbean fan blog, the Taylor Swift-themed cruise, organized by Marvelous Mouse Travels, departed Monday from PortMiami. Travel agent and co-organizer Jessica Malerman posted on TikTok that 400 people had registered for the Swiftie sailing, according to the blog. It is not known if the woman was part of the Swiftie group.
Ashley Sindaco-Gerhart, who is on the ship, said they were having a great time until things took a turn Tuesday night.
"They just came on the loudspeaker and they said Oscar, Oscar, Oscar. And now there is another cruise ship across from us, coming this way, and they have all the lights along the sides on," she said. "They would not let anyone outside. They were blocking the doors. There was a whole bunch of commotion."
Oscar is a term used for a person going overboard.
Sindaco-Gerhart watched as the search progressed.
"The planes above were doing a flower pattern to circle the area as much as possible for about three and a half hours. They finally concluded the search around 2 a.m. and that's when I went to bed," she said.
"I pray for her family. I pray that they find some type of closure in the whole situation," she added.
The identity of the woman has not been released and neither the Coast Guard nor the cruise line operator said how she went overboard.
The ship arrived in Coco Bay, Bahamas, on Wednesday and is scheduled to return to PortMiami on Friday morning.
Last year, a passenger on Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas went overboard while the cruise ship was heading to Singapore, officials said at the time. In another incident earlier last year, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger went overboard on a trip from to Hawaii from Australia, a company spokesperson told CBS News.