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Urgent search efforts for a British passenger who reportedly fell overboard from a cruise ship near Croatia have been called off after four days.
Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas was believed to be six days into a seven-day voyage around Greece and Croatia when the passenger disappeared during the early hours of Friday morning.
Croatian authorities confirmed on 9 August that a “young citizen of the United Kingdom”, reported to be a man, went missing from the cruise that had departed Saturday 3 August and has not been seen since.
The president of the Association of Croatian Sea Captains, Sanjin Dumanic, said on Monday: “Since the man has been in the sea for over 40 hours, we are already losing hope.
“We would all like him to be found, but 40 hours is a very long time, and we are losing hope that this search will end successfully”.
Nicole Bullock, a passenger onboard the Explorer, wrote on Twitter/X: “Woken up on the cruise ship around 3:40am to the emergency message “Oscar Oscar Oscar off the port side.” Man overboard.
“Been watching the rescue efforts off my balcony all day, hoping for a positive outcome.”
According to Bullock, a port dock in Zadar was cancelled as the Croatian Coast Guard assisted in the search.
Search and rescue efforts by The National Center for Coordination of Search and Rescue at Sea in Rijeka (MRCC) continued in the Adriatic Sea near the Vis archipelago and remote island of Jabuka over the weekend.
Planes, boats and drones were used to search for the missing Brit, with hopes that warmer summer waters would help his survival chances.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said they were aware of reports of a person overboard and are in touch with the cruise company.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “Our staff stand ready to support British nationals overseas 24/7.”
The Independent has contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.
In May, a passenger died after jumping overboard from Royal Caribbean’s largest cruise ship after it set sail from Florida.
The male passenger reportedly jumped from the 20-deck high Icon of the Seas after it left a Florida port to embark on a seven-day cruise around the Caribbean, first stopping in Honduras.
Shortly after, the man was “pronounced deceased” by the Coast Guard.
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