Search underway for 'girl in pink pyjamas' who fell overboard from cruise ship in the Med
A search is underway for a girl in ‘pink pyjamas’ who reportedly fell overboard from a cruise ship in the Mediterranean sea.
The Norwegian Epic ship was en route from Cannes in France sailing to Mallorca when the passenger, thought to be a teenager girl, fell overboard on Saturday.
According to passengers, it was due to arrive in Palma early on Saturday but turned around to search for the missing woman, spending two hours sailing back to where she was believed to have gone overboard before circling the area.
Passenger Rebekah Sanderlin told weather.com that at 8.30am on Saturday the captain announced to passengers that the ship was turning around to go back to look for a passenger who he said they had 'good evidence' had gone overboard.
I’m on the Norwegian Epic cruiseship in the Mediterranean & we’ve spent all day looking for a passenger who fell overboard last night. People are saying it was an American teenaged girl.
— Rebekah Sanderlin (@rsanderlin) June 8, 2019
She said the captain asked every passenger to help search from the deck railings.
"He told us she had last been seen in pink pyjamas,” she said. “He did not tell us her age or any other details," she said. "Thousands of passengers stood at the rails looking for hours. We have stayed in that location, not moving, all day.”
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She said other passengers had been told the missing person was an American teenager.
Another passenger wrote: “9 hours ago we were told someone is missing on our ship. We were told we’re turning around & not heading to Spain. We’ve been circling the same spot all day.”
Claire Murphy told the Sun Online that an early morning tannoy at around 7am had asked for someone to report to reception which she thought was unusual.
"Then about 8.30am they announced they were turning round, because someone in pink pyjamas had been seen going overboard, so we had to go back and look for that person.
"Everyone was a bit bewildered. They asked everyone on board to help look for that person, so a lot of people were looking out of the windows or were on the edge of the ship but no one could see anything.
"It took us two hours to get back to the place where they were last seen. We stopped there for four hours to try and find the person.
Early this morning, a report was made that an adult guest went overboard while the ship was sailing to Spain. The authorities were immediately notified & a search and rescue operation ensued. The search remains underway. Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual's family.
— Cruise Norwegian (@CruiseNorwegian) June 8, 2019
Norwegian Cruise Lines confirmed a passenger was missing, saying: “Early this morning a report was made that an adult female guest went overboard while the ship was sailing from Cannes, France, to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
“The authorities were immediately notified and a search and rescue operation ensued. The search remains underway. Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual's family.”
