A woman has died after going overboard from a cruise ship in the English Channel. The late-night incident happened as the MSC Virtuosa sailed back to England from Cartagena, Spain.
French and UK rescue teams received a distress signal around 02:00 local time.
A woman in her 20s was winched out of the water about one hour later by a French navy helicopter but was later pronounced dead. The French coastguard said the cruise ship passenger went overboard west of Alderney, one of the UK Channel Islands just off the French coast.
French and UK Rescue Teams Assisted in Air and Sea Search
The French Navy helicopter was joined by a UK RNLI lifeboat from Alderney and an air search plane. “Channel Islands air search were called out and requested to assist in the search for a person overboard from the MSC Virtuosa cruise ship,” the RNLI wrote in a social media post.
The French coastguard spokesperson said the navy helicopter team took the woman to a rescue center, where she was pronounced dead.
A passenger told the BBC the man overboard alarm rang out several times. “I went up along with lots of other passengers to have a look. About half an hour later, the cruise director told us they were looking for a missing passenger, so we would be delayed into Southampton.”
The cruise line confirmed the incident: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard while the ship was sailing to Southampton. The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event.”
French police are investigating, with assistance from English police in Southampton, where the ship later docked.
The 19-deck MSC Virtuosa has a capacity for over 6,000 guests.
