A 56-year-old man is missing after he reportedly jumped off a Carnival cruise ship on Saturday.
A Carnival spokesperson confirmed in a statement that cameras on the ship captured a male passenger going overboard the Panorama, according to several news reports.
The vessel sailed from Long Beach, California, to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on 13 September. The Panorama was returning from the coastal Mexican resort town when the incident occurred.
The circumstances leading up to the jump remain unclear.
“Carnival is providing support to the family who was traveling with the guest, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The US coast guard, which did not immediately respond to a Tuesday request for comment from the Guardian, is searching for the missing passenger, according to a statement provided to news outlets.
“The Coast Guard launched fixed wing aircraft to assist with the search and is coordinating search efforts with the Mexican Navy and commercial vessels in the area,” a spokesperson said in the Monday statement. “The search remains ongoing.”
On Saturday, Misty Hernandez, who was aboard the cruise ship, noticed the fleet had reversed direction and was heading back toward Puerto Vallarta.
The peculiar about-face came as the intercom system was used to repeat the name of a passenger, whom authorities have not publicly identified, a few times throughout the morning.
“You heard it one time and you’re thinking: ‘Oh, it’s almost the last day. Maybe he has an outstanding bill.’ But when you hear it more than three times, you knew that something was going on,” Hernandez said.
The cruise’s passengers were later instructed to return to their rooms for a headcount and were informed of a missing-person search, according to a video shared with the Guardian.
The order was lifted hours later when the captain delivered the news of a person having gone overboard.
As passengers trickled out of their cabins, Hernandez said, the previously bustling and loud atmosphere turned quiet. She prayed with some women she encountered in a hallway.
By evening, fellow passengers had written messages about the missing traveler on a piece of posterboard. While the man’s status is still unknown, the survival rate for overboard passengers is low.
Hernandez said she briefly met the man believed to have gone overboard in an elevator with his wife and children.
“They had mentioned that it was their anniversary trip,” she said. “My heart just hurts for their family.”
