Nightmare at sea as woman falls to death from Caribbean cruise ship balcony and lands on fellow passenger
4 April 2023, 09:35 | Updated: 4 April 2023, 09:56
A woman has died aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean after falling from a balcony and landing on a fellow passenger who was walking on the deck below.
The Virgin Voyages cruise ship had recently departed the port of Miami in the direction of Roatan, Honduras, when the incident occurred, with passengers reporting the woman fell up to 10 stories onto the deck below.
Emergency medics aboard the Valiant Lady were quick to attend to the woman on the evening of Sunday, April 2, shortly after the ship set sail.
The first evening of the six-night cruise to the Mexican port of Cozumel, the ship had departed the Miami shortly after 6pm.
The passenger on the deck below is reported to have walked away from the incident uninjured.
"Yesterday evening shortly after departure there was a medical emergency involving one of our passengers," a Virgin spokesperson said.
"This passenger went over their balcony onto a lower deck, and despite receiving immediate medical attention, has passed away. 'We are deeply saddened by this loss of life and our hearts and thoughts are with this person's loved ones.'
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The ship made a u-turn during the early hours of Monday morning following the incident, with passengers informed of their return to the port of Miami shortly after 1am.
"I just started my FIRST cruise with Virgin Voyages… and someone fell from their balcony and died,' tweeted passenger Mel Murray following the incident.
"On the first day bro - people SAW that s*** happen. That is *terrifying*!!"
The ship will now skip Roatan due to timing issues and Costa Maya due to the weather, continuing on to Cozumel as planned.
🛳🆘️Tragedy At Sea: One Dead on Valiant Lady #shorts #virginvoyages #cruisenews
The Valiant Lady is then set to return to Miami on Saturday morning via the Caribbean island of Bimini.
Six-night cruises aboard the ship start at $1,700, with passengers reportedly being offered credit towards a future cruise as a result of the schedule changes.
The tragedy comes a matter of weeks after another woman was found dead on a Carnival Cruise ship.
The death triggered an FBI investigation after crew members aboard the ship were notified that a woman was found unresponsive onboard.
