The search for a young British tourist who fell from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship into the Adriatic Sea has ended after four days, with authorities concluding that the man is unlikely to be found alive.
The man, whose name has not been released, reportedly fell overboard from the Explorer of the Seas in the early hours of August 3, 2024. The ship was sailing near the uninhabited Croatian island of Jabuka, roughly 45 miles west of Split. The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m., with the passenger believed to have fallen from a height of approximately 100 feet. The cause of the fall remains unclear.
Search and rescue efforts, which included planes and boats, were launched immediately following the incident. Croatian authorities, including the Coast Guard and the National Center for Coordination of Search and Rescue at Sea, concentrated their efforts in the waters around the Vis archipelago, a remote cluster of islands near the location where the man was last seen. Despite the warm sea temperatures, hopes for a successful rescue began to fade after the first 24 hours.
Marin Keko, coordinator at the National Center for Coordination of Search and Rescue at Sea, spoke about the efforts, stating, “We don’t know the condition of the young man who fell into the sea, but given that he is young, it is possible that he could survive even longer. We hope for a positive outcome, we don’t want to think negatively at all.”
The Royal Caribbean cruise ship was on a seven-day voyage that began in Ravenna, Italy, and included stops in Greece and Croatia. Passengers on board were alerted to the emergency early in the morning by the sound of alarms and an announcement over the ship’s PA system.
Nicole Bullock, a passenger on the ship, described the experience in a post on social media platform X, saying, “Woken up on the cruise ship around 3:40 a.m. to the emergency message ‘Oscar Oscar Oscar off the port side.’ Man overboard. Been watching the rescue efforts off my balcony all day, hoping for a positive outcome.”
Despite initial optimism that the warm sea temperatures—around 75°F—might allow the man to survive for an extended period, experts began to express doubts as time passed.
The Explorer of the Seas is not equipped with an advanced man overboard detection system, a feature that some in the cruise industry have called essential for improving safety on large ships. According to Cruise Law News, this is at least the 414th person to go overboard from a cruise ship or large ferry in the last 25 years.
This incident has left many passengers and crew members shaken. The ship continued its journey after the search was called off, although the planned stop in Zadar, Croatia, was canceled. The Royal Caribbean company has not yet released an official statement regarding the incident. The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed that they were aware of the situation and were in contact with the cruise company, but no further details have been provided.
While this is the most recent incident, it is not the first time a passenger has fallen from a cruise ship in the region. In 2018, British woman Kay Longstaff fell from a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Croatian coast and survived after spending 10 hours in the water. However, the circumstances of each incident are unique, and survival chances vary widely depending on factors such as water temperature, the height of the fall, and the individual’s physical condition.