Woman jumps off cruise ship and survives 20 hours at sea off Greece
A 44-year-old passenger from El Salvador jumped overboard from the cruise ship Odyssey of the Seas in Greek waters and was rescued about 20 hours later. Officials said she had "simply wanted to get off".
A 44-year-old woman from El Salvador has been rescued after more than 20 hours in open sea in Greek waters, having jumped off the cruise ship Odyssey of the Seas. She went over the side early on Friday while the vessel was travelling from the island of Mykonos to the Italian city of Naples, according to the British outlet Daily Mail.
The woman clung to a lifebuoy when she jumped. Officials said she explained her action by saying she had "simply wanted to get off".
The search
As soon as the crew noticed what had happened, they alerted the Greek Coast Guard. Two patrol vessels and a navy helicopter joined the search. The liner itself turned around to help find its passenger, and because of the search it had to cancel a scheduled stop at the port of Naples.
The search lasted all day without success. The woman was spotted early the next morning, about 20 hours after the jump, by the crew of a passing passenger ferry, roughly 112 kilometres from the coast of the island of Zakynthos.
Rescue and aftermath
Video released by the Greek Coast Guard shows a rescue boat slowly approaching the woman, who was still in the lifebuoy. A rope was thrown to her and the exhausted passenger was pulled aboard. Despite the long time in the water, she was able to climb out on her own and was taken to hospital for observation. Prosecutors have ordered medical and psychiatric examinations.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association, 212 people fell or jumped from cruise ships into the water between 2009 and 2019. Only 48 of them were rescued, about 22.6 percent.
