A 32-year-old woman jumped from a Carnival cruise ship about 150 miles from Louisiana. Video emerged of the woman being detained by three security officers. You can watch it below, but be aware that it’s disturbing.
According to WVUE-TV, the woman jumped from the balcony into the Gulf of Mexico from The Carnival Valor, which later docked in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The woman, 32, has not been identified. The reason that she jumped is also not yet clear.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Woman Was Not in Handcuffs, the Cruise Line Says
The video, which was posted to YouTube, shows a woman who was being detained by three security officers on a cruise ship. She yells out the name “Alicia.” A short time later, worried passengers talk about someone being overboard as they line the railing of the ship. WMFB-TV also reported on the video and added that the woman was traveling with her husband and other family members on the cruise, who are being assisted by the cruise line.
A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line told KKTV-TV, that the cruise ship guest “jumped from her balcony and was not in handcuffs.”
According to WVUE-TV, the woman jumped overboard around 2:28 p.m. on February 16, 2022. At that time, the cruise ship was “150 miles offshore Southwest Pass, Louisiana,” the television station reported.
The ship had left Cozumel, Mexico, on February 15, and it was returning to New Orleans, according to the television station.
The United States Coast Guard Was Searching for the Woman
Woman jumps overboard from 10th floor of Carnival cruise ship in Gulf of Mexico, search is continuing t.co/ERWWdhwq8X
A photo posted to Twitter showed an empty life preserver off the ship, according to KKTV. AZFamily reported that crew members threw life preservers into the water along with a flare to mark the woman’s location. The newspaper reported that the cruise ship circled “for hours” but didn’t find the woman. Eventually the ship then returned to New Orleans.
According to WAFB-TV, the woman who jumped is an African-American female, and the Coast Guard is searching for her.
Some witnesses have come forward to shed additional details.
A Baton Rouge woman told WAFB that security was called after an incident between the now missing woman and a man in the hot tub area of the 10th deck.
“Security got her out of the hot tub. Whenever they got to take her into custody, apparently she was upset and went over the rail. And, that was at about 2:30,” said Kim Barnette to the television station.
“Apparently, she was handcuffed, she jumped over the side of the ship,” said Darrell Morris, a passenger, to the station (but the cruise line denied the woman was handcuffed.”
“And when she jumped off, she apparently hit her head on the side of the boat. And, then she hit the water face first,” said Randy, a passenger, to WAFB.
Barnette told WAFB: “There are some lifeboats there that apparently she hit on the way down. Which when it hit, it was pretty loud, and of course, there was a disturbance here on the ship, which made me go on my balcony on deck 7.”
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