Woman falls overboard from Azamara Quest cruise ship sparking desperate search off Majorca coast

A massive search and rescue operation is underway after a woman fell overboard from a cruise ship while it sailed off Majorca.

A massive search and rescue operation is underway for a woman said to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship off Majorca.

Authorities launched the search after being called to the Azamara Quest at 2am this morning – just hours after the vessel had left Barcelona. Two Spanish Coastguards helicopters and a vessel were drafted in to assist the hunt in the Mediterranean Sea, The Sun reports.

And despite an extensive search throughout the day, the “middle aged” woman, who has yet to be identified, was not located.

A spokesman for Spanish Coastguards revealed: “Today at 2am the cruise liner Azamara Quest has informed our centre in Palma about a person who had fallen into the water 75 miles off Majorca.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash. From CNN International, Al Jazeera, Sky News, BBC World, CNBC & more. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Spanish coastguards have been deployed to aid a desperate search and rescue mission

“All night our helicopters Helimer 206 and 223 have been searching for her in an operation which has also involved the cruise ship and our vessel Concepcion Arenal.”

The ship had reportedly just set off on it’s first day of an eight-day adults-only cruise around Spain with a stop in Casablanca in Morocco.

This evening, the vessel was reported to be off the Spanish port city of Cartagena on its way to Malaga on the Costa del Sol where it is due to dock early on Monday morning.

The entire Azamara fleet only returned to operations for the first time in more than two years at the end of last month when Azamara Journey set sail from Greece.

During the coronavirus pandemic it was sold by Royal Caribbean and bought by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission