Afət Ziyadqızı
A 44-year-old Salvadoran woman went overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas in the Ionian Sea near the Greek island of Zakynthos, officials from Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Coast Guard said.
The Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the woman was found in dark waters inside an orange life ring designed to be visible at sea. The cargo ship MSC Rossella III was assisting with search-and-rescue operations.
After the cruise ship’s crew issued an emergency alert, Greek Coast Guard rescue boats arrived and used a line to bring the woman safely aboard a rescue craft.
A Coast Guard spokesperson said the woman told officials in an initial statement that she had deliberately jumped into the sea because she wanted to end her cruise and leave the ship. She had reportedly been in open water without assistance for about 20 hours.
According to the Greek Coast Guard, the rescued passenger was taken to the port of Katakolo. At the request of prosecutors, she was admitted to a local hospital for an assessment of her mental health.
A similar incident was reported last year off San Juan, Puerto Rico, when a man jumped from Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas to avoid a gambling debt of about $17,000. The passenger, Jey Gonzalez-Diaz, was rescued and later arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
