Norwegian Jewel: Passenger 'falls overboard' from cruise liner in the Atlantic - search abandoned
The search for a passenger who fell overboard on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has been abandoned.
Holidaymakers on the Norwegian Jewel - which is on its way from Ponta Delgada in the Azores to Miami - were woken up at 2am on Tuesday, with "code Oscar starboard" blaring out of the speakers - a maritime emergency signal for a person overboard.
Now a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line has said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm that on Monday, October 20, we were notified that a guest was reported to have gone overboard while the ship was sailing from Ponta Delgada, Portugal to Miami.
"The appropriate authorities were immediately notified, and an extensive search and rescue operation with multiple vessels was conducted.
"The search was unfortunately unsuccessful, and the ship was released by authorities to continue its voyage. Our team is attending to the guest’s loved ones during this very difficult time, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
The cruise ship spent hours searching for the passenger.
A British passenger, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "I was asleep in the cabin. The captain put out an announcement ‘code Oscar starboard’. As it was transmitted into our rooms also. I thought it might be serious and googled it to find that Oscar means person overboard. We have just in the last 10 minutes had an announcement to confirm someone is overboard."
