A search is underway for a cruise ship passenger who fell overboard Tuesday a few hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii, officials have stated.
At approximately 11:03 p.m. Tuesday evening the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu received a report that an Australian man traveling on the Royal Caribbean ship, Quantum of the Seas, had gone overboard approximately 500 miles off the southern coast of the Big Island, ABC News reported.
After the incident, the cruise ship remained on the scene for two hours, searching the area and deploying six life rings. A Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point C-130 Hercules aircrew launched a search mission at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday and arrived on scene at approximately 9:00 a.m. to begin searching. “After six hours on scene, the crew returned to Air Station Barbers Point for fuel replenishment. The search will resume at first light Thursday morning,” the U.S. Coast Guard stated in a press release. (RELATED: Woman Rescued 38 HOURS After Falling Overboard)
The United States Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship passenger from Australia who went overboard a few hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii. https://t.co/exOrNdRmXT
— ABC News (@ABC) April 27, 2023
The ship departed from a Brisbane port on April 12 bound for the Hawaiian islands with an expected arrival date of April 28, news.com.au reported. The Tuesday night incident left a sombre mood on the cruise ship, as passengers were altered to the unfortunate event. (RELATED: FBI Investigating ‘Suspicious Death’ On Carnival Cruise Ship)
“We were in bed and we heard it come over the PA system someone singing out “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar” and then that’s when everything started to happen,” cruise ship passenger Georgina Thompson stated, according to the outlet. Thompson further went on to explain that her husband went out on deck to see massive lights shining onto the ocean with multiple small boats.
“We didn’t know at that time what was going on,” she continued.
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, alerting all vessels within the area to help in the search for the missing man, news.com.au reported.
