A 72-year-old British woman has been reported missing from a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic after departing Malaga for the Caribbean.
The passenger was last seen aboard the Marella Voyager on Monday afternoon (November 9), but her disappearance was not discovered until Tuesday evening.
According to the Daily Mail, a cabin steward raised the alarm after noticing that her bed had not been slept in the previous night.
The crew searched the ship and called passengers to muster stations for a headcount, interrupting dinners and evening activities.
An initial announcement at around 7.30pm on Tuesday asked a passenger to report to reception.
It was repeated 10 minutes later before travellers were instructed at around 9pm to gather at four assembly points, where their identities were checked using boarding cards.
Captain Silviu Mitrea told passengers on Wednesday night that the search had failed to locate the woman and that she had been declared missing.
US maritime authorities have issued an alert asking vessels in the area to keep watch amid fears she may have fallen overboard.
The US Coast Guard’s rescue coordination centre in Norfolk, Virginia, circulated the warning. The ship had reportedly travelled around 550 miles beyond the location where she may have entered the water by the time the alarm was raised.
Security teams are reviewing CCTV footage to establish what happened.
The TUI-owned Marella Voyager left Malaga on November 4 carrying approximately 2,000 passengers and 800 crew.
It was due to reach Antigua on Friday, November 13, before calling at Dominica and finishing its itinerary in Barbados on Sunday.
Passengers had reported rough conditions during the Atlantic crossing, describing objects falling to the floor and the ship listing sharply.
One traveller said it was the roughest sea they had experienced in 20 years of cruising.
TUI said there was no evidence linking the weather to the woman’s disappearance.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it was supporting the family of a British national missing from a cruise ship in the Atlantic and was in contact with the relevant authorities.
Marella Cruises said the crew carried out a full search as soon as the passenger’s absence was discovered and that it was cooperating with investigators.
