NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship passenger missing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thursday morning, Carnival Valor arrived in New Orleans about three hours late.
A 32-year-old woman went overboard about 150 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River off the Louisiana coast.
The ship was returning from a 5-day cruise to Mexico.
A passenger took a picture of the woman being restrained after a disturbance near the pool, shortly before she ended up in the water.
“I was smoking at the top deck and then all of a sudden, a saw this woman yelling, and it looked like she got in trouble at the hot tub,” the passenger who did not want to be identified said. “Security asked her to calm down. I know that she was really hysterical when they were taking her to the cabin.”
A Carnival spokesman said the guest jumped from her balcony while at sea and the ship immediately started search and rescue efforts.
“Carnival’s CARE team is providing support to the guest’s husband who was traveling with her, as well as her family,” Matt Lupoli, Carnival Senior Public Relations manager said. “Coast Guard officials took over the search effort and released Carnival Valor on Wednesday evening. Our thoughts are with our guest’s family.”
Passengers say news of the incident spread quickly on the ship.
“We were just sitting out enjoying the water,” Stephanie Boyd said. “It was around 2:00, 2:30, and then a couple of people started rushing towards the back of the ship. They said a lady had jumped over.”
“I heard man overboard on the starboard side,” Wilbert Bell said. “I looked out the window I saw all the buoys were out. They were trying to recover the person.”
Passengers also said they were saddened by the turn of events after an otherwise wonderful cruise.
“I saw the young lady earlier, eating the day before, you know, taking pictures and then this," Orlando Watson said. "It was like, it’s just mind-boggling."
“I felt kind of guilty going to even eat, much less drink, so I just went in, kind of became somber,” Stephanie Boyd said. “Went to dinner and then went straight to my room.”
The Coast Guard continued the search for the woman on Thursday, but as of late afternoon, she remained missing in the Gulf of Mexico.
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