A crew member has died after going overboard from the Regal Princess while the cruise ship was sailing off Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Princess Cruises has confirmed.
The ship, which departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday for a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise, was travelling towards Cozumel when the incident happened.
Earlier on Monday, the cruise line said the crew member was missing and that an extensive search and rescue operation was under way.
The search involved the Regal Princess, another cruise ship and Mexican maritime authorities.
After more than eight hours of searching, Princess Cruises confirmed the crew member had died.
Passenger David Jimenez told CBS News Miami that the captain informed passengers about the incident and the ship repeatedly retraced its route during the search.
“But after searching intensely for over eight hours, the cruise line confirmed the crew member had perished,” Jimenez told CBS News Miami.
The cruise line cancelled the ship’s scheduled stop in Cozumel because of the incident.
“Our thoughts are with the crew member, their family, and all those impacted by this situation. We are providing support to our onboard team,” the company said in a statement.
The identity of the crew member has not been released.
