Rescue mission as passenger on world’s largest cruise ship falls overboard

A rescue mission is underway after a passenger fell from the world’s largest cruise ship.

It happened as Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of Seas sailed off the coast of Cuba, during a seven-day cruise which had begun in Florida.

The ship then immediately launched a search and rescue operation, for over three hours.

Getty/Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket

Having already been diverted due to Hurricane Idalia, the 23,000-tone vessel had to retrace its route as it searched for the missing holidaymaker.

Those onboard reportedly heard the alert ‘Oscar, Oscar, Oscar’ called over the vast ship's speakers around 9pm (local time), as it slowed and turned back.

According to the industry blog Cruise Hive, the Wonder of Seas launched small craft and used spotlights to search waters off the Southeast coast of Cuba.

Although the initial operation began on Tuesday (August 29), Royal Caribbean is now reportedly working with local authorities following the incident.

However, there are still very few details about the missing passenger, with the cruise liner also revealing very little out of respect for the passenger’s loved one.

A spokesperson told Fox News: “Out of respect for the family, we will not share further details about this unfortunate event."

Whilst such incidents are unusual, the incident is eerily similar to one back in July when a customer fell overboard in the waters around Singapore.

Getty/Loyola Perez/Anadolu Agency

Tragically, Reeta Sahani died shortly after falling from the Spectrum of Seas back on July 31.

Having left her cabin in the middle of the night, the 64-year-old’s husband became increasingly concerned about her welfare.

It was later found though that she’d entered the waters, with the cruise ship and Singapore authorities launching a search and rescue operation.

Shortly after this, her son, Apoorv Sahani, shared a tragic update on Twitter.

The 39-year-old wrote: “The cruise liner finally did share the footage with us and a search is also underway. With the footage we have unfortunately learnt that my mother has passed away.”

He added: "Would request you guys to give us some privacy as we mourn her loss. Ironically, today is also her birthday."

In a later interview with the Straits Times, Apoorv also confirmed the tragic news.

“Eventually my father was told to get down from the ship because there was another cruise that was going to take place, but we think she may still be on the ship, stuck somewhere,” he told the publication, adding: "She was on a holiday enjoying herself and then this whole thing happened. It doesn’t make sense."