A woman reportedly jumped from the balcony of a Carnival cruise ship close to Catalina Island after having a disagreement with her family, according to witnesses.
The FBI is currently looking into the incident, which took place early Monday morning aboard the Carnival ship Florence.
Officials said that the woman, who has not been identified, leaped from her stateroom balcony and fell onto the deck below.
A representative for Carnival, Julie Leonardi, confirmed the tragedy and noted that the passenger was traveling with family, who promptly alerted the crew about what had occurred.
“As is standard procedure following such incidents, law enforcement was present on Monday while the ship was docked to gather information,” Leonardi stated.
Kelly Duce, a private investigator from Ventura, California, who happened to be on the Florence at the time, shared that crew members indicated the victim had been in an argument with a family member prior to her decision to jump.
“It’s just terrible,” she expressed.
Law enforcement reported that the woman’s body was removed from the ship on the same day, and her family departed the country shortly afterward.
FBI agents arrived on the vessel later that day to begin their investigation.
“The FBI responded as the ship entered the port on Catalina Island on Monday, and they are looking into an onboard incident that ended in a fatality,” said FBI spokeswoman Lourdes Arocho.
“At this time, no further details can be disclosed due to the ongoing investigation,” Arocho added.
The FBI has jurisdiction over serious crimes on cruise ships, similar to its role with crimes on airplanes, and specifically investigates suspicious deaths at sea.
Carnival Florence had set sail from Long Beach the previous day.
This tragedy marks the second fatal incident involving a cruise ship in the United States in recent days.
On the previous Sunday, a crew member fell from a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Massachusetts coast, prompting a large search and rescue operation.
Video footage indicated that the unnamed crew member fell from the Norwegian Breakaway, about 19 miles off Cape Cod, into the cold ocean.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducted an extensive search but eventually ruled the situation a fatal accident and suspended operations on Monday.
