Cruise Ship Passenger Reported Dead After Falling Overboard
A cruise ship passenger was pronounced dead last week after falling overboard from the ship on which she was traveling.
Newsweek.com reports that the 75-year-old female victim was sailing aboard the Costa Pacifica cruise ship when she supposedly jumped overboard voluntarily at about 10:45pm on Thursday. The report cites a witness who claims to have seen someone “voluntarily jump from the balcony of their cabin.”
Cruise companies have a vested interest in classifying overboard situations as voluntary acts due to the inherent liabilities associated with passengers falling from the ships.
After the woman fell from the vessel, ship officials called NATO maritime forces for assistance in finding her. Authorities found the victim’s body in the Gulf of Cadiz at about 9:00pm on Friday.
Pasajera de un crucero caída de la cubierta 8 ayer (22.43h).Se ha buscado de forma ininterrumpida.Helimer 207 localiza el cuerpo esta mañana 45mn SW Trafalgar.El buque MªZambrano lo ha recuperado;se dirige a Algeciras;llegará a media tarde.Han participado medios de la OTAN pic.twitter.com/4ywqIuPikm
— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob)
October 11, 2019
“Standing NATO Maritime Forces assisted search and rescue for a person reported missing from an Italian cruise ship sailing off the coast of Spain,” the NATO Allied Maritime Command said in a statement.
Both passengers and crew members fall from cruise ships relatively regularly. As the Newsweek article notes, last month authorities said that a 35-year-old Royal Caribbean crew member was killed after he fell from the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship. His death, too, was claimed to have been an intentional act by that ship’s authorities.
Attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey and his team handle a wide range of cases, including but not limited to cruise ship accidents, admiralty and maritime accident cases, medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises liability, railroad accidents and car accidents. We represent victims from all over the nation, the world and the state of Florida.