A British passenger was seen falling overboard from the world’s largest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas.
US and Mexican coastguards instigated a search for the 30-year-old man who fell from the ship on Friday in waters near Mexico.
He was seen going over the railings by another passenger, the ship’s owner Royal Caribbean International said. He could also be seen falling over in CCTV footage at around 7.10am local time on Friday morning.
The man went overboard as the 5,400-passenger ship was sailing to Cozumel, Mexico, and the Mexican navy and coastguard were called to assist in the search for him.
The company said: “The ship made multiple public announcements and began a complete search of the ship, in efforts to locate the guest.
“When the guest did not respond and was not found on board, the captain alerted the local authorities.
“A review of the ship’s closed-circuit camera footage observed the 30-year-old British male guest going over the balcony railing in his stateroom on deck 11.
“The location of the ship at the time the guest went overboard was marked on the ship’s GPS and the US and Mexican coastguard were alerted.
“Our care team is providing support to the guest’s family and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
The ship was on a charter by Atlantis Events, described on its website as “the largest company in the world dedicated to creating unique vacations for the gay and lesbian community”.
Allure of the Seas was near the end of a seven-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale which departed on January 29.