- A tragic incident occurred earlier this month when a young boy and his mother lost their lives after falling overboard a passenger ferry.
- This incident serves as a reminder of the unfortunate outcome that often awaits individuals who find themselves in such a situation.
- Data from the industry reveals that only 28% of people who go overboard on cruise ships are successfully rescued.
The tragic incident involving a young boy and his mother, who lost their lives after falling overboard a large passenger ferry in the Baltic Sea, serves as a stark reminder of the grim fate that awaits most individuals in such situations.
Last Friday, a 7-year-old Polish boy fell overboard a Stena Line ferry while traveling from Sweden to Poland. His mother bravely jumped into the water to try and save him, but sadly, neither of them were recovered alive, according to authorities.
This international incident contrasted with a recent headline-making overboard case where a woman was successfully rescued after falling from the 10th deck of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and spending nearly an hour in the open water.
Experts described the woman’s rescue as “nothing short of miraculous.”
This rescue brought to mind the incredible story of a man who fell off a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico and managed to survive after spending over 20 hours treading water and eating bamboo.
However, these triumphant rescue stories are few and far between.
According to a report from the Cruise Lines International Association, out of 212 overboard incidents documented between 2009 and 2019, only 48 individuals, or 28.2%, were successfully rescued.
In May 2023, a 35-year-old man fell overboard a Carnival cruise ship, and despite a search effort lasting 60 hours, the Coast Guard eventually suspended the operation without finding him.
As of now, there have been 10 overboard incidents affecting 11 people in 2023, with nine fatalities, according to data compiled by Ross Klein, a social work professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland and operator of a cruise safety website.
Despite the attention-grabbing accounts of murky seas and foul play, overboard incidents remain extremely rare on cruise ships, as supported by industry data and expert analysis.
In 2019, there were a total of 25 reported overboard incidents, encompassing both passengers and crew members, according to a 2020 report by CLIA. This figure must be considered in relation to the more than 13.7 million passengers who embarked on cruises in the US alone during the same year, making the likelihood of going overboard less than 0.000001%.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
