A passenger on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship unintentionally filmed the moment a man went overboard last week.
Despite the immediate response from Norwegian Spirit’s search and rescue team, they sadly recovered the lifeless body of the passenger, identified only as Li. Onlookers described the horrifying scene, reporting screams followed by a loud splash as the 30-year-old Taiwanese man fell into the water.
Fellow passenger Kenji Lao Wang captured the tragic fall while filming with his Sony video camera. His footage, which has since been widely shared, shows the moment a figure suddenly appeared in the frame, plummeting from the ship’s upper decks.
One widely circulated image from the footage shows a couple and their young son watching from behind the railings just moments before the incident.
“It’s my first time on a cruise experiencing something like this, and it happened right in front of me. We were all really scared at the moment,” Wang said, recounting the event on his YouTube channel.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Statement
| “The onboard team took immediate action to recover the guest. Upon quickly reaching him, life saving measures were taken once onboard the ship, but unfortunately, he did not survive. His family has been notified and are being attended to during this very difficult situation. We are assisting them with the appropriate after life arrangements. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this tragic time. We are working closely with the appropriate authorities, and a full investigation is under way.” |
The Norwegian Spirit was transiting from Taiwan’s Keelung Port to Nagasaki, Japan before heading for Jeju Island in South Korea. The cruise stopped for 40 minutes while search and rescue boats were dispatched to help the man. They recovered the body shortly thereafter.
The vessel returned to Keelung Port, where local authorities boarded for investigation. According to the Taiwanese broadcasting company, TVBS, Li lost his footing before falling overboard.
On Friday, August 9, search efforts continued for another passenger who went overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas.
Another incident occurred aboard Carnival Dream last Friday. A female crew member did not show up for work on Friday morning and could not be located onboard. In a statement, Carnival said she is presumed missing at sea.
