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The incident left the traveller and her husband feeling ‘haunted’ after realising how easy it was to go overboard one of the ships deck – which had direct sea access
A passenger onboard the MSC Virtuosa where a woman tragically fell to her death feels “haunted” by the experience – after realising how easy it was for people to go overboard the ship.
Crew members launched a major search and rescue mission in the early hours of Saturday night as the 18-deck vessel let off “three loud blasts” to alert passengers of the emergency. The French Coastguard later confirmed that a person had sadly died after falling overboard from the ship, which was bound for Southampton the following morning.
A British holidaymaker, who has chosen not to be identified, boarded the cruise ship with her husband and was hoping for a relaxing break when the pair were suddenly woken by alarms blaring through their cabin. The passenger said: “We went to bed and all of a sudden, the alarm went off at 1am. There was loud beeping, and the captain was heard saying ‘man overboard, man overboard, portside, portside.’
“We didn’t know what to do. It was so alarming and distressing, especially when you’ve made loads of friends on the ship, and you’re just thinking ‘is it one of my friends?’
“We got up to get dressed and went out onto the ship, at which point there was a second announcement – this time by the cruise director, who said ‘There’s a missing person, our thoughts are with the family.’ I automatically thought, well it’s not a solo traveller. It was definitely apparent that they were onboard with family.”
The pair were then greeted by eerie scenes as they walked up to the ship’s deck to find that there was hardly any commotion at all, despite the frantic announcement. The woman said: “We went up on deck at around 1:55am, and I was quite surprised that they allowed us up there, considering what had just happened.
“We didn’t see any rescue teams on the deck at that point but we did see rescue boats in the sea. They also had to turn the ship around, which took forever. There were a lot of people still hanging around, having cigarettes and drinking – it was just a weird atmosphere. There seemed to be no panic. It was very sombre.
The couple, who were looking forward to taking their teenage son along on a cruise with them, say they’re now unsure after discovering how easy it was to go overboard – with one deck having direct access out to sea. They said: “As we were walking around, you could see it was quite possible.
“The barriers are high, but if someone was mucking around and put their leg over, or jumped up on it to have a Titanic moment, I definitely think that was possible. On deck 16, you could step over, find yourself on the other side of the glass, and quite easily slip off. That glass goes directly out to the sea. There’s not a deck below to almost break your fall.”
The travellers also recalled an odd series of events leading up to the tragic incident, but it remains a mystery whether or not these were linked to the tragedy. The woman said: “One passenger claimed security had knocked on his door and asked if someone had run though his cabin and onto his balcony. And a few days earlier, at 1:30am, another announcement rang through the tannoy saying there was a medical emergency on deck 9.
Following the incident, rumours also quickly began to swirl amongst those onboard the cruise. The woman explained: “First we were told [the casualty] was an 18-year-old. The second rumour was that there’d been a passenger who was punched in the face by her husband, who was taken off the ship – and perhaps that passenger had thrown herself off. On a Facebook page used by passengers that has now been taken down, there was a woman who filmed what she thought was a body being recovered by a helicopter.”
Despite an announcement warning passengers of a considerable delay, the ship had resumed its journey by 3am, the pair said. But the following morning when they were due to alight the vessel, they said they were left in the dark about instructions following the tragedy, and were not given any further details about what had happened.
The passenger said: “There was nothing. By 6am, we’d not slept and I phoned reception asking if we were still able to get off. They were really quite vague and didn’t share any updates on the incident.”
The couple say they mingled and made friends with fellow passengers onboard, and fear they may have already met the woman. One said: “I still feel haunted by it all, because we didn’t get any closure. We don’t know what happened, or who it was. In your mind, you’re thinking about ‘who was it?’ We may have met them. And we also just want to know how it happened.”
In a statement released shortly after the incident, a French coastguard spokesman said: “The H160 helicopter finds the person in its search area and hoists them out. The helicopter lands at the Tourlaville rescue centre where a medical team declares the death.”
In a statement a spokesperson for the cruiseline said: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton. The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time. Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.”
