A woman died after going overboard from a cruise ship

A woman died after falling overboard from a cruise ship near the Channel Islands, according to emergency services. An alert was issued about 02:00 BST for a search for the woman in her twenties north of Les Casquets cliffs, west of Alderney. According to the French search and rescue service, the patient from the MSC Virtuosa was winched from the sea by a helicopter crew before being confirmed dead by physicians. One passenger told the BBC that an alarm rung three times to indicate that someone had gone overboard.

The passenger, who only wished to be called Neil, stated that everyone on board was requested to pray for their fellow passenger. “I went up along with lots of other passengers to have a look,” he told me. “About half an hour later the cruise director told us they were looking for a missing passenger so we would be delayed into Southampton.” MSC Cruises issued a statement stating that a visitor on the MSC Virtuosa went overboard on October 12 while cruising to Southampton.The body was eventually recovered with the assistance of the authorities.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.”We shall not provide any other information in order to protect their privacy. The French police are leading the inquiry into the tragedy. A Channel Islands Air Search plane from Guernsey arrived on the site, as did lifeboat personnel from Alderney and France, as well as a French helicopter crew positioned near Cherbourg.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said officers were cooperating with investigations. “It has been reported that the woman went overboard the MSC Virtuosa during the early hours… and subsequently died,” according to the police. According to MarineTraffic, the Maltese-flagged cruise ship is 331m (1,086ft) long and 43m (141ft) broad and can accommodate up to 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew. MSC said the yacht is 19 decks tall and was built in France in 2020. It is currently berthed in Southampton Docks, having arrived at approximately 08:00 from Cartagena Port in Spain.