Authorities in Australia are conducting a complete air and marine search for two Carnival cruise passengers who fell overboard when the ship was 65 nautical miles off the coast of Forster, a city 185 miles north of Sydney.
On Thursday morning (May. 9), video footage showed a couple, a 30-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman falling from the ship’s mid deck the night before. Both are believed to be Australian citizens from New South Wales state. The Carnival Spirit cruise ended at Sydney’s Circular Quay after 10-days at sea, according to New South Wales Police Superintendent Mark Hutchings.
“This is a tragic event at the moment, but we’re holding out hope we might be able to find these people alive,” Hutchings told reporters.
The search will continue while investigators have the video enhanced in an effort to determine if the couple had jumped or had fallen by accident, Hutchings said.