Carnival Cruise passenger, 30, missing after jumping off ship off Florida coast
Carnival Cruise passenger, 30, missing after jumping off ship off Florida coast
- Officials say security footage from the ship confirms the man jumped
- After the man was found to have gone overboard, the operator was told to proceed to his final destination, Jacksonville
- Several Coast Guard ships have been dispatched to continue the search for the unidentified man
A passenger on a Carnival cruise ship is missing after jumping off the shipwhich, according to officials, was headed for the Florida coast.
The man’s companion told staff the 30-year-old went missing on Sunday, which eventually prompted security forces to check video cameras and find out where he had gone.
One such video showed the man jumping off the side of the boat about 95 miles off the coast of Melbourne, Fla., a coastal city just north of Vero Beach, on Sunday morning.
In a statement, the major cruise line wrote: “The crew was informed of his missing status by his travel companion late (Sunday) afternoon after he had not been seen for an entire day.”
“Unfortunately, after an extensive search on board and a review of security camera footage, it was determined that he had jumped.”
A man jumped off a Carnival Cruise ship about 95 miles off the Florida coast on Sunday
The ship was returning to Jacksonville, Florida after a four-day cruise in the Bahamas
The Coast Guard is still actively searching for the man who fell overboard Sunday morning
The cruise operator said authorities were alerted to the incident and were instructed to proceed to their final stop in Jacksonville.
“The Carnival Care Team is supporting the guest’s family and our thoughts are with them and the guest,” the company said.
The Carnival Elation ship had completed a four-day voyage through the Bahamas, scheduled to end in Jacksonville on Monday morning.
The Coast Guard continues to search for the missing person, who has not yet been identified.
The Coast Guard has reportedly deployed an 87-foot cutter Tarpon, a Hercules plane and an Ocean Sentry plane based in Miami.
According to the company’s website, the Carnival Elation can carry nearly 2,200 guests, is 855 meters long and has 900 crew members on board.
The unfortunate incident marks the second time in two months that a man has fallen overboard on a Carnival cruise off the coast of Florida.
In late May, a 35-year-old man from Virginia fell off the Carnival Magic more than 180 miles east of Jacksonville. The Coast Guard search was called off in early June without success.