Man dies after falling from tenth floor of a gay cruise ship while docked in Puerto Rico
Oasis of the Seas ship (Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty)
A 46-year-old man from Naples, Florida has died after he fell from the tenth floor of a gay cruise ship when it was docked in Old San Juan in Puerto Rico.
The man fell from the tenth floor of Royal Caribbean’s ‘Oasis of the Seas’ ship. Divers from Puerto Rico police and San Juan municipal police later recovered his body, ABC News reports.
After reviewing CCTV footage, authorities said that it appeared as though the man – who has not yet been named – went overboard intentionally.
CCTV footage indicated that the man jumped intentionally from the ship.
The US Coast Guard said that footage of the fall showed a “clean jump” from the ship’s tenth floor, according to CBS This Morning‘s David Begnaud.
Some reports indicate that the man may not have been a passenger on the gay cruise ship but may have instead been working on it.
UPDATE: @USCG says surveillance video shows "a clean jump" by a 46yo man from Naples, FL., who dropped 177 feet, from the 10 story deck of @RoyalCarribean's 'Oasis of the Seas', last night, while the ship was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Divers recovered the mans body. pic.twitter.com/vbUWaorB3k
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) January 23, 2020
When news broke that the man had gone overboard, the coast guard sent out a rescue helicopter as well as a number of response boats. The original call came in at 7.50pm.
Atlantis has been doing these cruises for decades and is so professional and welcoming. I know that their hearts have to be broken over all this.
The coast guard subsequently set up a 300-yard safety zone around the ship and prevented two other cruise ships from leaving.
The passengers on board the gay cruise were ‘concerned and patient’ during the search.
Eric Patton, a passenger on the ship, told The Tennessean that everyone on board the ship was “concerned and patient”.
“It’s the world’s biggest gay cruise,” Patton said. “Everyone on this boat has been so sweet and amazing. The captain and crew have been so phenomenal. The boat is beautiful. Being a cruise for predominantly gay men of every age, race, and stripe, it’s been so empowering to be a part of it.”
“Atlantis has been doing these cruises for decades and is so professional and welcoming. I know that their hearts have to be broken over all this. They’ve handled this so professionally and with such kindness to the passengers,” Patton said. “It really feels like a brotherhood on here. It’s just so sad this happened.”
Oasis of the Seas is currently being used for an annual cruise called Atlantis, which caters to the gay community.
