A holidaymaker has reportedly fallen from a TUI-run cruise ship north of the Canary Islands. Spanish coastguards and police were called after the adults-only Marella Explorer 2 issued a 'Man Overboard' alert.
News site Voz Populi reported that the alarm was raised yesterday morning as the 14-deck ship was en route to the Canaries from Madeira. It stated that the ship's captain slowed it to almost a halt before initiating 'protocol procedures', which included checking cameras, deploying marker buoys and carrying out circular search manoeuvres.
Tenerife newspaper El Dia reported that the incident occurred when the cruise liner was approximately 16 nautical miles from Punta de Teno, the island's most northwestern point. Spanish coastguards, who have yet to officially comment, are believed to have dispatched two of their specialist rescue vessels, including the Tenerife-based Salvamar Menkalinan, to conduct a sea search, supported by an emergency helicopter. Local reports suggest a German-flagged yacht also responded to the SOS call.
Voz Populi stated late yesterday that the missing individual is a tourist: "There is no record at this time that the passenger has been located. The operation remains open and the authorities have not yet provided the identity, nationality or circumstances of the fall, which is customary in initial investigations of incidents on cruise ships."
The ship's current location is showing as the Tenerife capital Santa Cruz, where it arrived around 2.30am today (November 28).
This morning, the Malta-registered cruise liner, constructed in 1995, boasts ten bars including the golf-inspired 19th Hole and ten eateries, as well as an alfresco cinema and a theatre reminiscent of Broadway.
On 21 November, it embarked from Tenerife on a seven-day Canarian Flavours voyage with planned stops at Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Madeira and La Gomera.
A day prior, on 20 November, an American woman mysteriously vanished from a Caribbean cruise ship.
Ann Evans, aged 55, was reported missing during a prearranged island tour in Sint Maarten, situated east of Puerto Rico.
She was last spotted leaving the Holland America Line Rotterdam ship around 10am for the excursion and alighting from the bus in Marigot, French Saint Martin, but she never returned.
Authorities have confirmed that law enforcement on both the Dutch and French sides of the island have been notified.