Reports indicate a search has ended without finding the woman who fell overboard into the Mediterranean Sea
According to NBC News, Cruise Norwegian identified the passenger as a 63-year-old Korean woman who disappeared into the water on Saturday morning as the Epic cruise ship traveled from France to Mallorca, a Spanish island.
A review of surveillance cameras reportedly revealed that she vanished at about 5 a.m.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual’s family during this difficult time,” said a cruise line spokesperson.
As of Sunday, officials say her body had still not been recovered and ongoing efforts to find her had been cancelled. Resources including a helicopter, ship and military aircraft were used to scour the surrounding water.
According to social media accounts from others aboard the ship, passengers were asked to aid in the search after being informed that the vessel would not be making its next stop due to the emergency.
In a statement to NBC News, New York resident Samantha Fox said the ship changed course to return to the area near where the woman is believed to have gone overboard.
“When we arrived at the spot, they urged passengers to look out in the water for a person with pink pajamas,” she said.
After dark, the search ended for the night and the ship reportedly headed for Barcelona, Spain.
Another passenger indicated that, even early on, the woman was feared dead after the captain made an announcement that she couldn’t swim, as reported by the New York Post.
“Given the conditions, it’s unlikely she would have survived,” said Dr. Kyjuan Brown.
[Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, Wikifrits]
