Woman overboard from Pacific Dawn near New Caledonia
A WOMAN who fell overboard from a cruise ship near New Caledonia was a 47-year-old from Brisbane, police have revealed. AUDIO: CAPTAIN’S ANNOUNCEMENT
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A WOMAN who fell overboard from a cruise ship near New Caledonia was a 47-year-old from Brisbane, police have revealed.
In a statement this afternoon, police said: “Initial investigations indicate the Brisbane woman has gone overboard sometime (yesterday), 150 nautical miles from New Caledonia.
“QPS officers will meet the Pacific Dawn when it arrives at the Port of Brisbane on Sunday morning to conduct investigations and work with other agencies as required.
“No suspicious circumstances have been identified at this time.”
Earlier, the captain of the Brisbane-bound cruise ship made a heartbreaking announcement to passengers that the search for the woman had been called off.
The woman was believed to be travelling with her husband and children.
P&O said in a letter to passengers today the woman’s family was being looked after by a “special care trained crew” as the ship makes its way back to Brisbane.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
• Female passenger fell overboard about 4pm Thursday
• Passengers say she went outside to be sick during rough seas
• Search called off by 7.45am Friday, ship headed for Brisbane
• Woman was believed to be travelling with husband and children
• Captain’s announcement can be heard in video player above
They’re expected to dock early Sunday, making it a 62-hour journey for the grieving family since the woman fell.
Several passengers said the woman went outside to vomit as she was seasick, and she was thrown overboard when a wave hit the vessel about 4pm yesterday. The ship was near New Caledonia at the time.
However, another passenger has denied that there was a wave, or that the ship was listing at the time the woman fell.
Teg An said P & O had not said where on the ship the woman had fallen from, but said they could not be faulted for the way they had handled the tragedy.
She said this was her 10th cruise with P&O, her 12th overall, and was “by far the worst thing I’ve seen happen on a cruise”.
Ms An said there was a sombre mood onboard and passengers had been kept well- informed of the situation.
“The captain has asked for (the) privacy of the family which is being respected,” told AAP today.
“You cannot fault P&O for how they have handled this.” Ms An said passengers had been updated with developments from the outset.
“The captain and crew have been put in an unimaginable position yet have handled themselves professionally and with the respect to the victim and her family,” she said.
The 245m P&O Pacific Dawn cruise liner spent hours yesterday circling in rough seas while staff scoured the ocean for the woman.
The ship remained in the area this morning to continue the search but authorities confirmed the search had been called off at about 7.30am and the Pacific Dawn would now head to Brisbane.
The Captain this morning made an announcement to passengers confirming the search had been unsuccessful.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I need to let you know that we have been unable to locate our guest,” he said.
“We are still in the area of the incident, and the weather conditions with the swell three to four metres high, as you can see outside ... the strong wind made our search extremely challenging.
“As a result we have now made the extremely difficult decision to continue our journey towards Brisbane.
“I know I speak on behalf of all of you when I say our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
P&O has since sent passengers an update, notifying them of the situation.
“It is with a very heavy heart that despite our continued search through the night, we have been unable to locate our guest,” the letter reads.
“As a result, we have made the extremely difficult decision to make our way home to Brisbane. We have made this decision after seeking advice from the marine rescue authorities in both New Caledonia and Australia.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Please know that we are continuing to provide the guest’s family with as much care and support as we possibly can. We have a special CARE trained crew to help them onboard and our return home.”
The letter also informed passengers of changes to their flights after the Brisbane return.
Carnival Australia spokesman David Jones earlier said the search was called off after hopes of the woman’s survival faded.
“The difficult decision to suspend the search was made only after expert advice that survival after this length of time in difficult sea conditions and after a full night at sea was not considered possible,” he said this morning.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritimes Safety Authority said the search was called off “based on expert medical advice on survival time”.
She said members of Queensland Police will board the ship when it arrives in Brisbane.
Several passengers have told The Courier-Mail that the captain announced the ship would arrive about 6am Sunday — a day later than originally scheduled.
A 19-year-old female passenger told The Courier-Mail she was playing bingo and the woman was sitting behind her before going outside to “puke”.
“Not long after they announced “man overboard” we suspected it was her because the incident occurred on the same deck of the ship and she didn’t come back,” the passenger said.
“The cruise ship staff have gone above and beyond this whole time to try and locate the missing woman and we were getting updates over the speaker from the captain,” the female passenger said.
A Melbourne passenger said the woman’s husband saw her fall and immediately went into shock. He said three life rings were thrown out but returned empty.
The male passenger, who is staying on deck six, said waves were crashing halfway up the ship.
Conditions were so rough that tender boats were unable to enter the water and as the sun set staff were forced to use the vessel’s search lights to scan the ocean waves, a Bundaberg passenger said.
Another woman on board posted to social media that she was “feeling helpless” and “and this woman who fell overboard has a husband and children on board”.
A Brisbane man holidaying on the ship with his family said conditions in the search area were rough, with 3 to 4 metre swells yesterday afternoon.
“We heard the ‘man overboard’ announcement around 5pm,” the passenger said last night. “The boat stopped and turned, life rings were thrown out and we are still searching.”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority and New Caledonian authorities last night issued a plea for nearby vessels to assist in the search. But an AMSA spokeswoman last night said there were no other rescue boats tasked in the search with the liner left to trawl the area alone.
The AMSA early this morning said the Pacific Dawn remained in the area searching.
“We are still continuing our search at this time,” a spokeswoman said. But the search was called off by 7.30am.
Passengers last night told The Courier-Mail the mood on-board was sombre but activities continued.
“To be honest, it’s all very sad,” one woman said.
“Music continued to play after the announcement, ‘man overboard, port side’ and tonight the Gatsby night still went ahead.”
Others took to social media with fears for the woman, who they said was travelling with her husband and children.
The ship, which has room for 1546 guests, left Brisbane on Saturday on a seven-day round trip to Vanuatu.
P&O spokesman David Jones said the woman fell about 4pm, 150 nautical miles west of New Caledonia.
“A crew member notified the bridge straight away and the ‘man overboard’ incident response was activated immediately,” a statement read.
“In line with this response, Pacific Dawn turned around to follow the course it was on at the time of the incident.”
A ship passenger, who asked not to be named, described the atmosphere onboard as “very sad, solemn and quiet”.
Another passenger said the ship left Port Vila yesterday and was headed back to Brisbane when the woman fell.
“Everything on board is continuing as normal although the mood is somewhat sombre,” she said.
After midnight a passenger from the Gold Coast said the display screen on board suggested the ship was heading back to Brisbane at a speed of 7.5 knots, but there had been no official announcement.
The 27-year-old Pacific Dawn underwent major refurbishment last year, with new restaurants and cafes, an update interior, and a waterpark added.
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