A major search is under way for a 72-year-old woman believed to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship in the Atlantic.
The pensioner was last seen aboard Marella Voyager late Monday afternoon while the vessel was sailing from Malaga towards the Caribbean.
This publication understands the alarm was raised on Tuesday evening after a cabin steward discovered that the passenger’s bed had not been slept in the previous night.
Passengers were asked to leave their dinners, drinks and evening entertainment as crew members launched an emergency headcount and searched the ship for signs of the missing woman.
The ship was searched from end to end, but the woman has not been found. Tui, the holiday company operating the vessel, said security staff were continuing to examine CCTV footage for possible clues.
The 866ft ship has since travelled roughly 550 miles from the area where the passenger may have entered the water, making it impossible to turn back and search the location.
The US Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Centre in Norfolk, Virginia, has instead issued an alert to nearby vessels, urging crews to “keep a sharp look out” for the missing woman.
The incident occurred as Marella Voyager encountered a severe Atlantic storm, leaving some passengers frightened and others suffering from seasickness.
Passengers aboard Marella Voyager were ordered to report to muster stations as the captain declared a “Code X-Ray” — the signal used when someone is believed to have gone overboard
Crew members lined up aboard Marella Voyager during the emergency response
A Tui spokesman told the Mail: “A guest has gone missing on board the ship, but nothing suggests that weather played a part in the guest’s disappearance.
“The cabin steward raised the alarm after noticing that the guest’s bed had not been slept in. A full search of the ship was then carried out, and the incident was reported to the authorities.”
Marella Voyager, which carries about 2,000 passengers and 800 crew, departed Malaga on November 4. It was scheduled to reach Antigua on Friday, continue to Dominica and complete the trip in Barbados on Sunday.
The first indication that something was wrong came at 7.30pm on Tuesday, when a female passenger was asked to report to reception. The request was repeated 10 minutes later.
Concern escalated at about 9pm, when passengers were urgently instructed to gather at one of the ship’s four muster stations while crew members tried to establish whether the woman was still on board.
Anxious holidaymakers stood in lines of four as staff scanned their boarding cards to account for everyone on the cruise ship.
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One crew member told those gathered: “Unfortunately, we do have a missing person. This is the only way we can find out whether they are on board or not.”
Another attempted to calm passengers, saying: “This is just to check who is here. Do not move ahead and think that we have to leave the ship.”
During a ship-wide announcement on Wednesday evening, Romanian captain Silviu Mitrea confirmed that the woman was still missing.
Thanking passengers for their cooperation after they reported to the muster stations the previous night, Captain Mitrea said: “I want to explain why. I’m sorry to tell you that one of our guests has been reported missing.”
Marella Voyager is operated by Tui and can accommodate about 2,000 passengers and 800 crew members
He said the crew had “conducted the relevant searches straight away” and asked anyone with information to contact guest services.
The missing passenger has not been named. The Mail understands that efforts are continuing to trace and notify her next of kin.
The disappearance followed several days of powerful Atlantic storms that battered Marella Voyager, alarming some passengers and leaving others feeling unwell.
Heavy winds and towering waves shook the 77,302-ton ship, sending objects crashing to the floor as the vessel listed sharply.
“I’ve never experienced seas this rough in all my 20 years of cruising. It’s bad,” one passenger wrote on social media.
“We were sitting inside on deck 11 because it was pouring with rain. We heard a huge bang, as if we had hit something. The ship began tipping to one side and we could see the water through the windows.”
Passengers also claimed that two people had been evacuated by medical helicopter during the voyage from Malaga to the Caribbean, while another ambulance was called before the ship left the Spanish port.
“This cruise is cursed,” one holidaymaker said.
The latest incident comes after a pianist performing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas was found fighting for his life after spending almost nine hours treading water in the Pacific.
Two fishermen from California rescued him about 20 miles off Catalina Island. Investigators are still working to establish how he ended up in the sea.
