Man goes overboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship as Hurricane Idalia passed through Cuba
A man is missing after going overboard Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas cruise ship Tuesday night as it passed Cuba, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and the cruise line.
The spokesperson for the Coast Guard said the ship, which is known as the largest cruise ship in the world, was off the coast of Cuba when the man went overboard. Because that area is technically out of the Coast Guard's jurisdiction, Cuba's Border Guards responded.
Royal Caribbean told FOX 35 News in a statement that the ship's crew immediately began a search-and-rescue operation after the man was reported overboard, and that it was working with local authorities.
"On August 29, a guest sailing on Wonder of the Seas went overboard. The ship's crew immediately launched a search and rescue operation and is working closely with local authorities. Out of respect for the family, we will not share further details about this unfortunate event," the statement read.
Wonder of the Seas departs from Port Canaveral on multi-day trips to the eastern and western Caribbean, including stops in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas, depending on the sailing.
The massive ship is 1,188 feet long, 211 feet wide, 18 decks, and can accommodate 7,084 people, guests and crew, according to a fact sheet on the ship.
Hurricane Idalia
Idalia formed in the Caribbean and eventually moved through the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane over Florida's Big Bend region.
Cedar Key, Perry, Steinhatchee, Hudson Beach were all hit especially hard with flooding, storm surge, and wind damage.
There have been two storm-related deaths reported in Alachua and Pasco counties, according to Florida Highway Patrol. However, one has been officially attributed to Hurricane Idalia at this point.
Idalia then moved through Georgia and the Carolinas before making its way back out to the Atlantic Ocean. It has now been down-graded to a post-tropical cyclone, but could reemerge as a tropical storm this weekend.
Idalia is one of six systems brewing in the Atlantic, including Hurricane Franklin, Tropical Storm Jose, Tropical Depression Gert, and Tropical Depression 12. There is also a disturbance being watched that has a 50% chance of formation over the next week.