A passenger has jumped overboard from a cruise ship sailing to a huge international city popular with millions of tourists, with a frantic search and rescue mission now ended. A man in his 30s plunged into the sea, 30km northeast of Moreton Island, near Brisbane, on Friday night after he “apparently climbed over the safety railing and jumped”.
Emergency services quickly arrived at the scene and carried out a search of the water for the man. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) led the operation with support from Queensland Police, deploying five rescue helicopters, six surface vessels, and Challenger jets in the search. After a day of intensive searches AMSA confirmed the rescue mission had been suspended at 5.30pm on Saturday.
A Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said the family of the passenger notified the crew. CCTV footage appeared to show the man climbing over the safety railing before jumping into the water, a spokesman said.
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