British passenger falls overboard from Royal Caribbean cruise ship
Search efforts in the Adriatic Sea centred around the remote island of Jabuka
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A British passenger sparked urgent search efforts after reportedly falling overboard from a cruise ship near Croatia during the early hours of Friday morning.
Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas was believed to be six days into a seven-day voyage around Greece and Croatia when the incident occurred.
Croatian authorities confirmed on 9 August that a “young citizen of the United Kingdom”, reported to be a man, went missing from the cruise that had departed Saturday 3 August and has not been seen since.
Nicole Bullock, a passenger onboard the Explorer, wrote on Twitter/X: “Woken up on the cruise ship around 3:40am to the emergency message “Oscar Oscar Oscar off the port side.” Man overboard.
“Been watching the rescue efforts off my balcony all day, hoping for a positive outcome.”
According to Bullock, a port dock in Zadar was cancelled as the Croatian Coast Guard assisted in the search.
Search and rescue efforts by The National Center for Coordination of Search and Rescue at Sea in Rijeka (MRCC) continued in the Adriatic Sea near the Vis archipelago and remote island of Jabuka over the weekend.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said they are aware of reports of a person overboard and is in touch with the cruise company.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “Our staff stand ready to support British nationals overseas 24/7.”
The Independent has contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.
In May, a passenger died after jumping overboard from Royal Caribbean’s largest cruise ship after it set sail from Florida.
The male passenger reportedly jumped from the 20-deck high Icon of the Seas after it left a Florida port to embark on a seven-day cruise around the Caribbean, first stopping in Honduras.
Shortly after, the man was “pronounced deceased” by the Coast Guard.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
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