A British passenger on a luxury cruise ship from Virgin Voyages jumped overboard the Valiant Lady ship returning to Portsmouth (UK) after its maiden voyage sailing through Spanish and Portuguese ports on Wednesday night.
After the strange incident, a large search and rescue operation was launched for the missing passenger, involving the French and Spanish coast guards, as well as some of the crew and other passengers of the cruise ship, who returned on course in the hope of finding him.
The captain of the luxury cruiser even desperately asked other guests to search the sea for any sign of the man missing in the water, while an observation plane and helicopter were deployed to try to locate him.
In addition, two merchant ships that were in the area were diverted to assist in the search at sea, the Daily Mail reported.
But on Thursday night the search efforts were canceled and it is believed that the passenger is presumably drowned.
The incident itself is a mystery, as it is not clear whether any other passenger saw the man jump into the water or whether his allegedly deliberate act was caught on a security camera.
The Valiant Lady resumed its original course after the search stopped and is due to dock in Portsmouth tonight, about 12 hours late.
The tragedy shook the passengers of the brand new Virgin Voyages ship, who complained that the vacation had been riddled with problems.
They said it felt as if Valiant Lady, who presented performances by pop groups from the eighties, including Tony Hadley, Toyah and T'Pau, was “cursed”.
Passengers had paid up to $6,500 to sail La Coruña in Spain, Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and spend two full days and one night in Lisbon.
But the original itinerary was discarded, as the trip to the capital of Portugal was reduced to one day and Madeira was completely lost.
Then, a passenger became seriously ill and had to be taken off the ship by helicopter.
The series of unfortunate events culminated on Wednesday night when the Briton fell overboard.
“The cruise ship felt cursed from the start, it has been beset by one problem after another. First it was small things like running out of food and drinks and the wifi not working, then the performances were readjusted and the itinerary was changed,” one of the passengers told Daily Mail.
“There were covid infections: they had to create an area of the ship for those who tested positive to isolate themselves. And then someone got so sick that they had to be flown to the hospital. And now this terrible incident. It was horrible,” he added.
Another said that everyone is devastated by what happened, and by the idea that one of his traveling companions died.
Passengers were informed last night that, due to extensive travel problems, they would be offered a free European cruise with Virgin Voyages this summer.
The Valiant Lady, the cruise ship with tragic debut, was touted as a perfect boat for the “young at heart”, featuring a variety of luxury restaurants, intimate bars and a nightclub.
The elegant ship previously announced a partnership with Jennifer Lopez, in which the singer and actress would invest in the cruise line and develop entertainment, health and fitness collaborations.
“In the early hours of the morning, we were informed of a man-overboard incident involving a passenger, resulting in a search and rescue mission. We are deeply saddened by this news and our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of this sailor. Our investigation indicates that it was an intentional act and that no crime is suspected,” the Virgin Voyages company said in a statement.
Regarding the other incidents that occurred during the trip, the spokesman said: “We had an earlier incident in which one of our sailors on board experienced a medical emergency and required medical attention on the ground. Our team acted quickly and, with the help of local authorities, we were able to fly them to the hospital. We are very happy to report that this person is well and receiving medical attention.”
He also apologized for the breaches of the original plan.
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