A female passenger who fell off a cruise ship into Greece’s Ionian Sea dozens of miles off the coast of the Peloponnese has been rescued on Sunday after twelve hours in the water, according to the Hellenic Coastguard.
The 44-year-old woman, a national of El Salvador, had fallen from a Bahamas-flagged cruise ship while it was located 72 nautical miles southwest of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea.
The authorities were notified during the early hours of Friday, after the Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) notified the Port Authorities of Zakynthos, Katakolo, and Pylos about the woman falling overboard. The local emergency plan was immediately activated, and extensive search operations commenced, involving a Hellenic Coast Guard rescue vessel and a patrol boat, nearby ships, and an Air Force Super Puma helicopter.
During the search operations, a floating lifebuoy light was initially located—a sign that aided the search for the missing passenger. Ultimately, in the early hours of Saturday, the woman was found conscious inside a lifebuoy by the Madeira-flagged cargo ship MSC ROSSELLA III, which also participated in the search and rescue operation.
Video of the rescue
A coast guard boat approached the scene and rescued the woman, with crew members administering first aid. The boat then proceeded to the port of Katakolo, where the woman was handed over to a National Center for Emergency Care (EKAB) ambulance and transported to the “Andreas Papandreou” General Hospital of Pyrgos for medical examinations and observation.
The Hellenic Coast Guard has released video footage of the search and rescue operation for the 44-year-old woman who fell into the sea from a cruise ship off the coast of Zakynthos. The footage captures moments from the rescue operation.
There was no immediate information on how she fell into the water and how she came to have a lifebelt. The exact circumstances under which the 44-year-old ended up in the sea have not yet been clarified. The Katakolo Port Authority is conducting a preliminary investigation into the incident.
The cruise ship
The woman fell from the Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship in the Ionian Sea while it was sailing from Mykonos to Naples, Italy. Royal Caribbean Group said it immediately launched rescue efforts to locate the missing person, and after hours of searching, the woman was rescued, CNN Greece reported.
“We were heading towards Naples when, around 10 am, the captain informed us that a woman had jumped off the ship in the early hours of the morning. The ship turned around, and we’ve now been circling for hours while conducting search and rescue operations with the help of the Greek Coast Guard,” a passenger wrote on social media.
“Apparently, she grabbed an inflatable ring and just jumped into the middle of the ocean. We are currently on board the ship, praying for her family and loved ones,” the person added.
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