Woman Falls Overboard Adults-Only Cruise Ship Off Coast Of Spain

A woman fell overboard the Azamara Quest cruise ship at about 2 a.m. CEST Sunday, prompting a widespread search and rescue effort from the Spanish Coast Guard.

The coast guard dispatched two helicopters and a vessel to search for the woman, who is believed to have fallen from the ship of the adults-only cruise about 75 miles off the coast of Majorca, Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, the Mirror reported.

The Azamara Quest, which was on the first day of an eight-day sailing around Spain, has paused its journey to participate in the search for the woman, the news outlet said. The search-and-rescue effort is still ongoing.

The cruise ship called the coast guard for assistance just hours after it had left Barcelona, according to the Sun. It is unclear how the “middle-aged” woman fell from the ship. Her identity has not been released.

A spokesperson for the Spanish Coast Guard told the Mirror, “Today at 2 a.m. the cruise liner Azamara Quest has informed our centre in Palma about a person who had fallen into the water 75 miles off Majorca.

“All night our helicopters Helimer 206 and 223 have been searching for her in an operation which has also involved the cruise ship and our vessel Concepcion Arenal.”

The Azamara cruise fleet had just returned to sea in May after more than two years of pausing its operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its first sailing was with the Azamara Journey ship, which set sail from Greece.

The Azamara cruise line was sold by Royal Caribbean during the pandemic to private equity firm Sycamore Partners in an all-cash carve-out transaction for $201 million. The company added a fourth ship to its fleet following the acquisition, the Mirror said.

The Azamara Quest is a mid-sized ship that has seven restaurants, cafes, and lounges, according to the company’s website.