Woman Pushed Off Carnival Cruise Ship? ‘High Suspicion’ Of Foul Play, Passengers Say

Passengers of a Carnival Cruise Line ship suspect that "foul play" was involved when a woman went overboard the boat in the Pacific Ocean over the weekend.

The unnamed woman, believed to be in her 20s, fell from the fifth-floor balcony of her Carnival Miracle cabin and into the water as the cruise ship was 35 miles off the coast of the Mexican city of Ensenada Saturday, CBS 2 Los Angeles reported.

Passengers, who reportedly numbered more than 1,100, were awoken at approximately 3:30 a.m. that day by an announcement that a person went overboard, according to the outlet.

Some of the passengers believe "foul play" may have been involved in the incident.

"There's some high suspicion of foul play," Daniel Miranda, a Northern California firefighter paramedic and one of the passengers onboard the ship, was quoted as saying.

"A lot of people are concerned because that’s somebody’s life, and that’s a high likelihood that this person will not be found alive," he added.

The Carnival Miracle "did their best efforts to get crews out on little boats ... to start a search" and "had crew literally around the deck to look all the way around the ship to be able to see if somebody was out in the water," Miranda claimed.

"They had lights out in the water trying to flash out there, but again, it's pretty dark," the paramedic said.

The incident, which was captured on security cameras, also prompted a search by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Mexican navy, a report by The Independent said. Among the resources the USCG utilized in the search were a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter patrol boat and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter.

The USCG and the Mexican navy halted search and rescue efforts Sunday after 31 hours.

"[USCG] assets are standing down pending additional information," the maritime force said in a statement.

The woman who fell overboard is now reportedly presumed dead.

Carnival Cruise Line issued a statement following the incident. "We advised Carnival Miracle guests this morning of an overboard incident involving one of our guests from the balcony of her [stateroom]. Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our care team is providing support," the company said.

The Carnival Miracle, which was initially scheduled to return to Long Beach, California, from Ensenada on the day of the incident, returned early Sunday morning after being searched thoroughly Saturday.