I have been out of town but my producer sent me an email today. I’ll go ahead and get right to it.
Associated Press | MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship passenger who reportedly jumped overboard in the Bahamas.
The Coast Guard says crew members aboard Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas reported Neha Chhikara missing Thursday afternoon as the ship was headed from Nassau to CocoCay.
Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says the guest was reported missing by her husband. Security camera footage showed the 23-year-old woman going overboard from the 11th deck early that morning.
Martinez said Friday that Bahamian government officials reviewed the footage and determined that the woman jumped overboard.
The ship left Port Canaveral, Fla., on Monday for a five-day cruise through the Bahamas. It’s due to return Saturday.
This brings up a good questions…. we have seen a lot of folks jumping over the past year. Do you think that people have started jumping more or that these stories are getting picked up by more news wires? I am curious of your thoughts…….
2 Responses
131 individuals have gone overboard since the year 2000. 2009 was the worst year with 25. Many of the deaths were never investigated thoroughly and were never solved. Foul play should be considered for all incidents until they are fully investigated. The Cruise Lines continue to tell the media that this is a rare occurence. Nothing has improved since our cruise in 2005 when a beloved and respected couple fell overboard and died and the ship did not return to where they fell for over 12 hours and then there was no investigation of their murder. In the most recent case, the captain was not even notified of the death until 8 hours later. If somone died or was injured in a bar or a restaurant could they get away with waiting 8 hours before reporting it. Negligence by the cruise line and perhaps Congress? There have been recent congressional hearings but no effective legislation.
Then again why would any of the cruise lines be concerned about the death of one customer?
It seems the answer you seek would be a great subject for an interview for your show. Interview a senior cruise ship security executive.. if you want a positive spin, get someone who tells you how much security has increased over the years.. if you want a negative spin, find one who’s been out of the industry for a while.
But in answer to your question, of course this has been happening. These stories are in the media because Noro virous is old news.. they need something else to focus on the cruise industry.
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