The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the conclusion of its search for a 77-year-old woman who fell from a Holland America Line cruise ship near Cuba on New Year’s Day.
The individual, who has not been publicly identified, went missing approximately 40 miles northeast of the Sabana-Camagüey Islands. According to the Coast Guard Southeast, they stated, “The USCG on Thursday suspended the search for a missing 77-year-old woman who fell overboard from a cruise ship until new information becomes available.”
The search involved cruise ship personnel as well as USCG crews, who searched an area of around 690 square miles for close to eight hours.
The Coast Guard reported that both the cutter William Trump and a helicopter from Clearwater Air Station took part in the operations.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Holland America Line expressed their deep disappointment. They shared, “We are deeply disappointed to confirm that a passenger from the New Statendam fell overboard early today while sailing in waters north of Cuba. The captain and crew have initiated search and rescue procedures, working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and deploying a cutter and helicopter for the rescue.”
They added, “After a day-long search, operations were called off at sunset. Our family support team is supporting our guest’s family and our thoughts are with their loved ones at this difficult time.” As a result of this incident, the ship’s planned port call in Key West, Florida, scheduled for January 2nd, was canceled.
The Nieuw Statendam cruise ship has the capacity to accommodate around 2,700 passengers. The vessel had embarked from Fort Lauderdale on December 27, making stops in the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Dominican Republic before the incident occurred.
Ultimately, the ship was en route to Key West when the woman went overboard.
