Regal Princess cruise ship tragic update after incident involving crew member

A cruise crew member died while a ship was sailing off Mexico’s coast on Monday evening. Princess Cruises confirmed that a crew member, who has not yet been identified, died after going overboard the Regal Princess. An extensive search-and-rescue operation was launched after the initial incident.

Passengers said they received an announcement from the captain that a crew member had gone overboard. One of them, David Jimenez, quoted by CBS, said the ship immediately began searching the area while another cruise ship and Mexican maritime authorities assisted in the effort. “But after searching intensely for over eight hours, the cruise line confirmed the crew member had perished,” he added.

Mr Jimenez also said passengers were not told the identity of the crew member and added: “At times the ship slowed down and went in circles. Then they would come back and circle again. They are following procedures but kept people updated every hour.”

Due to the incident, the ship cancelled the scheduled stop in Cozumel. The Regal Princess departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday for a seven-day Western Caribbean trip which included stops in Mexico, Belize, and Honduras.

In a statement, the cruise line said: “Our thoughts are with the crew member, their family, and all those impacted by this situation. We are providing support to our onboard team.”

The Regal Princess has since resumed its voyage and departed the waters off Cancún, with the next stop being on Tuesday in Belize.

The seven-day cruise is expected to return to Fort Lauderdale as scheduled on Saturday.

Princess Cruises has been operating since 1965. Starting in Mexico, now it covers more than 345 destinations, including Asia, the Caribbean, and many European ports.

Other destinations include Alaska, Australia, Japan, the Mediterranean and South America.