Indiana Toddler Falls To Death From Room On Royal Caribbean Ship In Puerto Rico

A summer cruise ended tragically for an Indiana family when their infant daughter fell to her death.

The incident occurred Sunday on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas cruise ship that had been traveling in the Caribbean and docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

While the ship was docked, an 18-month-old girl was napping in her family’s room as her grandfather tended to her. She started to appear restless, so the grandfather picked her up to help calm her down. While holding her out of the window for air, he lost his grip of her and she fell 150 feet to the concrete below.

The toddler was immediately rushed to a local hospital for emergency treatment around 4:30 p.m. local time but was pronounced dead shortly after.

“Police have now launched an investigation and are trawling CCTV of the ship,” Department of Public Security Member, Elmer Román, told reporters. “At this time Homicide is in place. It has not been possible to interview the family. It is a very strong scene, very sad and tragic. At one point, one of her grandparents... in an act of games, exposes the girl to the void and falls out of his hands.”

Investigators are waiting to interview the family while reviewing CCTV footage but have expressed belief that this may have just been a tragic accident.

“We are deeply saddened by yesterday’s tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family. We’ve made our Care Team available to assist the family with any resources they need,” a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said. “Out of respect for their privacy, we do not plan to comment further on the incident.”