Foul Play Considered Likely After Woman Falls Overboard From Carnival Cruise Ship And Dies

A woman fell off a Carnival Cruise ship balcony and into the Pacific Ocean early Saturday, prompting an international search effort.

The incident happened shortly after 3 a.m. aboard a Carnival Miracle ship near Ensenada, Mexico. Security footage captured the moment, the U.S Coast Guard said. Passengers were notified shortly after.

The ship had been on the sea for three day trip from the Long Beach Cruise Terminal in California to Mexico.

The ship was released after having assisted with the search and continued to Ensenada, about a 90 min drive from the U.S. border.

Coast Guard crews were working with the Mexican navy to find the missing woman, who is said to be in her 20’s. After 31 hours of searching, the Coast Guard ended its search on Sunday.

“Someone has lost their life, whether it was done by accident to by foul play I don’t know,” said Daniel Miranda, a Northern California firefighter paramedic on board the ship, told CBS Los Angeles.

The FBI has taken over the investigation and now considers “foul play” to be the likely cause of the tragedy.

Following the tragedy, Carnival released their own statement. It read, “We advised Carnival Miracle guests this morning or an overboard incident involving one of our guests from the balcony of her stateroom,” they wrote.

“Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our care team is providing support.”