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A passenger aboard the cruise ship where a woman had died after going overboard says she is “haunted” by the incident once she discovered how “easy” it can be to fall off the ship.
Rescue teams went out in search of a woman in her twenties at around 2am on Saturday (12 October). The woman was on board the MSC Virtuosa cruise ship, which sent out a distress call saying she had gone overboard north of Les Casquets, close to Alderney in the Channel Islands.
The woman was eventually found and hoisted from the sea by a helicopter crew but was pronounced dead.
After the tragic incident, a British holidaymaker on the 18-deck cruise ship has recounted the moment they found out a fellow passenger had gone overboard on the ship, worrying that it could have been one of the friends they made while on the cruise.
The unnamed woman and her husband told The Mirror that they were awoken by a loud beeping alarm at 1am blaring through their cabin, adding that the captain could be heard saying “man overboard, man overboard, portside, portside”.
“We didn’t know what to do. It was so alarming and distressing, especially when you’ve made loads of friends on the ship,” she said.
The couple got dressed and went out onto one of the decks, where another announcement was made stating that there was a missing person.
However, the woman explained that there was a “weird atmosphere” out on the deck despite the announcement, as while rescue boats were out at sea looking for the woman, there were still people drinking and smoking.
“There seemed to be no panic. It was very sombre,” she said.
The couple said that they were looking forward to taking their teenage son on a cruise with them in the future, but after apparently seeing how “easy” it was to fall overboard, they had been reconsidering their holiday plans.
"As we were walking around, you could see it was quite possible,” she said. “The barriers are high, but if someone was mucking around and put their leg over, or jumped up on it to have a Titanic moment, I definitely think that was possible.”
The two passengers also told The Mirror about a bizarre series of events before the tragic incident occurred but did not know whether they were linked to the fatality.
The woman said that another passenger claimed a member of security had knocked on his door at some point on the cruise, asking if someone had run through his cabin and onto his balcony.
A few days earlier, the woman also claimed that there was another announcement saying there was a “medical emergency” on deck nine.
After the tragedy, the couple said they resumed their journey by 3am but the passengers were left in the dark about what had occurred that night.
“I still feel haunted by it all, because we didn’t get any closure. We don’t know what happened, or who it was. In your mind, you’re thinking about ‘who was it?’ We may have met them. And we also just want to know how it happened."
The ship’s owner MSC Cruises told The Independent on Sunday: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton.
“The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.
“Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.”
The investigation into the death is being led by French police, with officers from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary being deployed to assist with enquiries relating to this incident.
MSC Cruises told The Independent that they won’t be commenting further on the tragic event at the weekend as there is an ongoing investigation, but with regard to safety onboard, they said cruise ships are designed to keep guests and crew safe.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
