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A passenger on the ship Valiant Lady, operated by Virgin cruise, died after falling from a balcony to the deck. The incident took place on April 2, 2023, as the boat was on its way to Roatan, Honduras, as per People. Stating that the individual received "immediate medical attention" after the incident took place, a spokesperson for Virgin Voyages told the publication:
"This passenger went over their balcony onto lower deck, and despite receiving immediate medical attention, has passed away. We are deeply saddened by this loss of life and our hearts and thoughts are with this person's loved ones."
The unidentified person landed on top of another passenger, who managed to escape uninjured. The remains were then transported in an ambulance as the ship continued its journey.
A YouTube star on the Virgin cruise revealed more details about the tragedy
A vlogger with a YouTube channel called The Shiplife was one of the passengers on the Virgin cruise. He shared a video on Monday where a woman was seen speaking on the intercom, saying:
"So once again, we are now headed back to Miami, and we'll arrive around 1:30 a.m. At the moment, we do not have a departure time for tomorrow after our arrival, but we'll share all relevant information with you as soon as we have updates."
The vlogger shared that the announcement was made at 11 pm local time and no one was aware of what was going on. He added that there were rumors about someone's death on the Virgin cruise ship but nothing was confirmed at the time. The captain then announced at 8 am that the company was deeply saddened after a passenger fell and died.
According to the vlogger, a few passengers had to leave the ship after the tragic incident. He also mentioned that Virgin Voyages offered passengers onboard complete cruise credit for the future.
The Valiant Lady is currently on its way to the Mexican port of Cozumel where it will dock before returning to an island in the Bahamas called Bimini. It will return to Miami this weekend, on Saturday.
Although the Virgin cruise ship was scheduled to stop in Mexico's Costa Maya, the plan was abandoned due to poor weather conditions.
Cruise ship accidents in the past
The Cruise Lines International Association reported that around 292 passengers and crew members were injured inside cruise ships between 2009 and 2018.
A case involving a passenger on the Valiant Lady was highlighted in April 2022, when an individual passed away after a fall. In November of the same year, an Alabama-based man fell off Carnival Valor and was able to survive for 20 hours before succumbing to his injuries.
The latest case came to light in February 2023, when news of the mysterious death of a woman on a Carnival Sunshine cruise ship did the rounds online.
The April 2 tragedy is currently under investigation, and individuals await more details about the circumstances surrounding the individual's fall and subsequent death.
