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The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 41-year-old man who went overboard on a cruise ship just before Christmas, it said Monday.
The Vision of the Seas ship was 127 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday night when the incident occurred, the Coast Guard posted on X.
Crew members said they immediately reported the incident to local authorities, which began a search and rescue mission, according to the ship’s operator, Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Coast Guard crews searched more than 1,625 square miles over eight hours, according to the Coast Guard in Charleston.
“Out of privacy for the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share,” said a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Passengers were alerted just after 7 p.m. Saturday, when an announcement saying “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar, Starboard” was made over the ship’s loudspeakers, passenger Colin Schappi told NBC News affiliate WCBD in Charleston.
“All the staff made a face at each other,” said Schappi, who was at dinner onboard when the incident happened. “No one knew what was going on at first, then they did another announcement explaining what happened a few minutes later.”
The ship departed Baltimore on Friday and made its first stop in Orlando on Sunday, arriving in the Bimini Islands on Christmas Day, according to the cruise itinerary. Two more stops are planned in the Bahamas before it returns to Maryland.
The eight-day roundtrip was themed “Christmas,” according to the cruise line’s website.
A 28-year-old man jumped from a Carnival cruise ship bound for Jamaica last month and was never found after the Coast Guard searched over 5,600 miles.
