A woman who went overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship survived 20 hours in the Ionian Sea by clinging to a lifebuoy before she was rescued, Greece’s Hellenic Coast Guard said.
The 44-year-old Salvadoran national was aboard the Odyssey of the Seas on Saturday as the vessel traveled near the Greek island of Zakynthos, according to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which spoke with USA Today.
The cargo ship MSC Rossella III joined the search and eventually spotted the woman inside a bright orange lifebuoy in the dark water. After notifying authorities, the ship remained nearby while a Greek Coast Guard crew threw her lines and brought her aboard safely.
A Royal Caribbean passenger was rescued near a Greek island last week after going overboard. (Hellenic Coast Guard; Getty Images)
The woman reportedly told officials that she jumped from the ship because she “wanted to disembark,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. The spokesperson added that she had spent “20 hours at sea.”
After the rescue, authorities took her to the port of Katakolo and then transferred her to a nearby hospital. The Hellenic Coast Guard said a prosecutor ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
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Greek authorities reportedly sent a Coast Guard vessel and a military helicopter to search for a woman who went overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. (moisseyev/Getty Images)
News Outlet contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.
The rescue comes after a similar incident last year, when a man jumped from Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, reportedly in an effort to avoid nearly $17,000 in gambling debt.
A 44-year-old woman reportedly went overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas while the cruise ship was traveling from Greece toward Italy. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The passenger, Jey Gonzalez-Diaz, survived the jump and was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
