Published on Sunday, June 9, 2019

Search for missing Norwegian Epic passenger called off

The search for a woman who went missing after going overboard from Norwegian Epic in the Med has been called off.

The woman, from Korea, has not been found after going overboard early on Saturday 40 miles off the coast of Majorca.

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said: "On the early morning of June 8, an adult Korean female guest went overboard while the ship was sailing from Cannes, France to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

"As soon as the report was made, the authorities were notified and a search and rescue operation ensued.

"The search has now ceased, and sadly, the guest has not been found.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual's family during this difficult time."

Guests on board Norwegian Epic described helping crew search for the missing 63-year-old.

Passenger Claire Murphy from Tonbridge, Kent, told the Sun newspaper: "They said they were turning round, because someone in pink pyjamas had been seen going overboard, so we had to go back and look for that person.

"Everyone was a bit bewildered. They asked everyone on board to help look for that person, so a lot of people were looking out of the windows or were on the edge of the ship but no one could see anything.

"It took us two hours to get back to the place where they were last seen.

"We were literally in the middle of the Med, it was really windy and it was very rocky. We stopped there for four hours to try and find the person."

Norwegian Epic missed its scheduled stop at Palma but carried on towards Barcelona on Sunday morning.

Passenger Alexa March tweeted: "The staff and local authorities did everything they could in search efforts. My thoughts and prayers go out to this family."