A woman has tragically died after falling from the balcony of her cabin aboard a Carnival Cruise Line vessel. The incident occurred on the Carnival Firenze near Catalina Island, approximately 22 miles off the Southern California coast, on Monday morning. The passenger fell over the balcony railing and struck a deck below, according to the cruise operator. The woman, whose name has not been disclosed, was traveling with her family, who raised the alarm.
“All appropriate authorities have been alerted,” a spokesperson for the company told NBC Los Angeles. “As is customary, law enforcement will board the ship today on Catalina Island to conduct the required investigation.” The circumstances surrounding the woman’s fall remain unclear.
“Carnival’s Care Team is supporting the guest’s family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved one,” the spokesperson added. The Carnival Firenze departed its home port of Long Beach in Los Angeles on Sunday and called at Catalina Island on Monday. It is now sailing south towards its next scheduled port of call, Ensenada, and is due to return to LA on April 30, according to Cruise Hive.
The Vista-class ship can accommodate 4,126 passengers and 1,425 crew members, according to the Carnival Cruise Line website. It measures 1,061 feet in length. This incident follows another in which a man is missing after falling from a Norwegian cruise ship traveling from Bermuda to Boston. Search and rescue teams scoured the waters off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday following a man overboard alert. The crew member was captured on security cameras falling from the Norwegian Breakaway into the sea approximately 12 miles off the town of Wellfleet, according to a statement from the US Coast Guard’s Sector Southeastern New England.
