US Coast Guard searches for cruise ship passenger in Bahamas

MIAMI, Fla. - Authorities searched in the Bahamas for a U.S. citizen who went overboard from a cruise ship before dawn Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the 32-year-old woman reportedly fell from the 11th deck of the Carnival Ecstasy as the ship passed near the island of Grand Bahama. Carnival Cruise Line reported that she apparently jumped overboard.

A statement from the cruise company said emergency procedures were initiated immediately and the crew began to search for the woman. The U.S. Coast Guard aircraft and two ships to an area about 27 miles (about 43 km) southwest of the island of Grand Bahama to look for her.

The cruise ship had left Nassau, Bahamas and was en route to Charleston, South Carolina at the time.

The woman's name and hometown were not released.