Cruise Passenger Leapt Overboard Seeking Disembarkation, Report Says
A 44-year-year-old woman spent nearly 20 hours in the Ionian Sea before being rescued.
A woman who went overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship said she jumped because she "wanted to disembark," according to reports. The 44-year-old El Salvadoran passenger fell from the Odyssey of the Seas ship early on Oct. 9.
She was spotted conscious in the Ionian Sea near the island of Zakynthos the following Saturday. Greece's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the sighting. The emergency prompted a nearly 20-hour search and rescue operation. Crews aboard the cargo ship MSC Rossella III located and rescued her in the early hours of Oct. 10.
Dramatic footage released by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows the cargo ship's crew approaching the woman, who was wearing a life preserver. The crew shone a strobe light on her while tossing a rope, which she used to pull herself toward the vessel.
After receiving first aid on the cargo ship, she was transported to a local hospital. The Katakolo Port Authority is investigating the incident.