A cruise passenger reportedly went overboard from a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, according to several newspapers.
The Norwegian Jewel was on a 12-day Australia-New Zealand cruise when the passenger went overboard near the east coast off the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand’s North Island.
The man went overboard around 7:00 P.M on Sunday (New Zealand time).
The NCL ship returned to the area where the man is believed to have gone into the water and conducted what appears to be a short search for the passenger before continuing on its itinerary. A container ship, several yachts and two helicopters also reportedly searched for the passenger.
Several people also posted about the incident on Twitter.
Norwegian Jewel carries out #ManOverboard procedure after #passenger falls from #cruise #ship off the #Mahia Peninsula #NewZealand #rescue #solas #sar pic.twitter.com/Jc6GiWtftZ
— Daniel Ayers 🇳🇿 (@4n6expert) December 29, 2019
According to cruise expert Dr. Ross Klein, there have been 358 people (27 this year) who have gone overboard since 2000.
Update: According to a newspaper in New Zealand, NCL has since released a statement “saying the man, a 62-year-old Australian national, had deliberately jumped overboard while sailing from Napier.”
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Image credit: via MarineTraffic