Woman who jumped from cruise ship rescued after 20 hours at sea near Greek tourist island
Por Liam Gilliver — – World RSS Feed
Woman who jumped from cruise ship rescued after 20 hours at sea near Greek tourist island
The 44-year-old woman has been found alive and conscious inside a lifebuoy – two nautical miles away from where she ‘disembarked’ the cruise ship’
Liam Gilliver Tuesday 13 October 2026 10:42 BST
- Bookmark
- Comments Go to comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popover
open image in gallery
Become an Independent member to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
A passenger who went overboard from a cruise ship has been found alive after spending ‘20 hours at sea’ near a Greek island.
The 44-year-old woman, who has not been named, is said to have ended up in the water last Friday (9 October) under circumstances that were initially unclear.
The Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas ship was sailing towards the Greek island of Zakynthos on Friday morning when the woman, from El Salvadaor, allegedly jumped because “she wanted to disembark”.
Coast guard authorities were immediately notified and an extensive search was launched.
Rescue and patrol boats, ships passing through the area and a Super Puma helicopter belonging to the Hellenic Air Force took part in the operation.
In the early hours of Saturday (10 October), the woman was found alive and conscious inside a lifebuoy by the MSC ROSSELLA III, a cargo ship sailing under the flag of Madeira that was taking part in the search.
The flashing light attached to the circular flotation device was spotted first, helping rescuers locate the missing passenger.
open image in galleryThe woman was found approximately 70 nautical miles south-west of Zakynthos, around two nautical miles from the reported location where she entered the water.
She was recovered by the Coast Guard rescue vessel and given first aid before being taken to the port of Katakolo.
She has since been taken by ambulance to a hospital in Pyrgos, a village located on the Greek island of Santorini, for medical observation.
The Katakolo Port Authority says it is investigating the incident.
It is not the first time a cruise ship passenger has survived hours in open water after going overboard.
In November 2022, 28-year-old James Michael Grimes survived after falling from the Carnival Valor into the Gulf of Mexico. He was rescued by the US Coast Guard after spending almost 20 hours in the water.
In August 2018, British tourist Kay Longstaff also survived around 10 hours in the Adriatic Sea after falling from the Norwegian Star. She was rescued by Croatian coastguards.
More about
ZakynthosMadeiraSantoriniUS Coast GuardNorwegian Star
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Most popular
Popular videos
Bulletin
Read next
Fonte: – World RSS Feed