Korean woman, 63, Missing from Mediterranean Norwegian Cruise Ship, 8 Jun 2019

[SeesSeas]

Closeups of this ship's exterior, deck plans, etc.:
Norwegian Epic Pictures

I think there are quite a few balconies without a lower deck to catch your fall.

Yes, this ship has many balconies which are a straight drop to the water. I've cruised on numerous ships with several cruise lines and our balcony room was always directly over water with nothing below to impede travel of body/object that went over the railing. Railing provides some safety for small adults and children, but is mostly 'caution' for adults.
https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/pictures.php?ship=Norwegian-Epic

 

[FleurQualia]

I was confused as heck when I clicked on the thread saying it was a 63 year old Korean woman and reading about a 17 year old in pink pajamas.

How the blankity blank did they get that information so wrong in the beginning?

 

[ilovechili]

Husband's story is that he was sleeping...........we have all heard this before.....JMO

Agree.

It is interesting how the change in the victim changes thoughts. When I thought it was a teenaged daughter with both parents, I doubted both mom and dad likely did anything to her, I did wonder if there was a step-parent, etc. Now that it is a woman with spouse, well we know that is hardly unheard of...

Of course there is still a suicide possibility or accident but she did not just fall over the rail, it would have had to be due to standing on something and falling, etc.

They seem to know she went overboard so I wonder as to video or witnesses...

I wonder since the victim information was wrong, whether the information that she could not swim is correct or not...

I am a non-swimmer, I would never put myself at risk near water. Just an observation from someone who does not swim, if she as well did not. I used to joke with my other half if ever you want to get rid of me...

 

[Bugurl747]

There are video cameras covering the ship that alarm when someone goes overboard. Don't know why the alarm did not sound but I do know that Epic is totally updated. I cruised on Epic in March of this year. No one can accidentally fall overboard from the balcony unless they intended to go over or someone threw them over. The balcony rail goes to mid chest on me, I'm 5'2". There is simply no way someone can accidentally fall overboard. They would have to climb up and jump or stand on chair and jump over.

If there is video surveillance on the ship, wouldn't there be video evidence showing whether she was pushed, jumped, or fell? I don't understand why we don't know exactly what happened if this was the case?
Don't all cruise ships have extensive video surveillance for safety and if not, why?

MOO

 

[ilovechili]

If there is video surveillance on the ship, wouldn't there be video evidence showing whether she was pushed, jumped, or fell? I don't understand why we don't know exactly what happened if this was the case?
Don't all cruise ships have extensive video surveillance for safety and if not, why?

MOO

Someone said earlier that there are even alarms on it that are to go off when someone goes overboard and does not understand why one would not have.

In response though in general, I don't think we know. Reports were entirely wrong in the beginning and likely came from passenger speculation. They seemed to have known a person went overboard though so it has to be witness or video one would think. Perhaps whatever video saw a person falling through the air but not of their balcony?

Edited to fix typos and clarify

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

If you haven't read the Cruise Critic discussion about the missing passenger, please check it out: Passenger overboard from Epic

There are a couple of posts from passengers who are/were on this cruise. They provide first-hand accounts of what happened onboard, the search for the missing woman, mood on the ship, information given to passengers, etc.

 

[missingm]

Here is a question for anyone that has been on a cruise and had a balcony with average rail height.

Can this ever happen?

Lets say a person was just leaning against the rail but the weather and waves were really large. Like when in an airplane with bad turbulance and there is a sudden drop in altitude and the plane drops severely and you feel your stomach want to come up out of your throat,
Does the same thing ever happen on a cruise boat where maybe the edge of the ship hit a big wave and the ship dropped severely enough to where her weight lifted her center of balance enough to go up and over the rail?

Is something like that even possible?

Ive never been on a cruise and dont know how bad the waves and movement of the ship can get in bad windy weather.

You can get some big winds on a cruise ship, especially after midnight when the boat typically picks up speed between ports that are further apart. However there is no way that a cruise ship the size of this one will jump up and down suddenly like turbulence. It is just way too heavy.

Personally if the winds were bad she probably never would have stayed out on the balcony. The husband is going to get a ton of questions over this.

 

[ilovechili]

If you haven't read the Cruise Critic discussion about the missing passenger, please check it out: Passenger overboard from Epic

There are a couple of posts from passengers who are/were on this cruise. They provide first-hand accounts of what happened onboard, the search for the missing woman, mood on the ship, information given to passengers, etc.

I read these but did not go into the news links people posted, I simply read the comments. I found one comment to have the most of interest with a hearsay remark, but one the person said was mentioned because it seemed to fit.

 

[Momof4RN]

You can get some big winds on a cruise ship, especially after midnight when the boat typically picks up speed between ports that are further apart. However there is no way that a cruise ship the size of this one will jump up and down suddenly like turbulence. It is just way too heavy.

Personally if the winds were bad she probably never would have stayed out on the balcony. The husband is going to get a ton of questions over this.

Agree. I’m having a problem understanding the time line tho maybe that’s also incorrect since we were initially told the parents went to bed at 1am and then it was the husband who fell asleep at 1am. If she went out on balcony at 1am but they placed her overboard at 5am I can’t see her standing out in extreme wind for 4 hours.
Also it was reported she was last seen going into cabin at 1am but then they said husband said she left cabin to get fresh air and when he awoke she hadn’t returned. That would tell me she was never on the balcony.

ETA-So maybe the information about her being seen going into cabin at 1 am was incorrect and she actually left the cabin at 1am?

 

[Momof4RN]

Update:


A search is on in the Mediterranean for a woman who fell off a cruise ship.

Bringing this forward. Because this makes it sound like she left cabin not stepped out onto balcony.

 

[Kalamos23]

Here is a question for anyone that has been on a cruise and had a balcony with average rail height.

Can this ever happen?

Lets say a person was just leaning against the rail but the weather and waves were really large. Like when in an airplane with bad turbulance and there is a sudden drop in altitude and the plane drops severely and you feel your stomach want to come up out of your throat,
Does the same thing ever happen on a cruise boat where maybe the edge of the ship hit a big wave and the ship dropped severely enough to where her weight lifted her center of balance enough to go up and over the rail?

Is something like that even possible?

Ive never been on a cruise and dont know how bad the waves and movement of the ship can get in bad windy weather.

I’m 5’9” and even with rough waves, never felt like that on a cruise ship. Personally, you have to want to go overboard or have help from someone else. The railings are high. Possibly at 7’ tall this could be more likely but not at 5’2”.

 

[lonetraveler]

Here is a question for anyone that has been on a cruise and had a balcony with average rail height.

Can this ever happen?

Lets say a person was just leaning against the rail but the weather and waves were really large. Like when in an airplane with bad turbulance and there is a sudden drop in altitude and the plane drops severely and you feel your stomach want to come up out of your throat,
Does the same thing ever happen on a cruise boat where maybe the edge of the ship hit a big wave and the ship dropped severely enough to where her weight lifted her center of balance enough to go up and over the rail?

Is something like that even possible?

Ive never been on a cruise and dont know how bad the waves and movement of the ship can get in bad windy weather.

I as a cruise member, can say that NO it can not happen. You can not fall overboard on a balcony on this ship. I was on this ship in March this year, no way overboard on a balcony.

 

[lonetraveler]

I was confused as heck when I clicked on the thread saying it was a 63 year old Korean woman and reading about a 17 year old in pink pajamas.

How the blankity blank did they get that information so wrong in the beginning?

You can also add that she wasn't with her parents, she was with her husband.

 

[lonetraveler]

I'm sorry but the husband's story is so standard, Ie., I was sleeping and I know nothing, I see nothing, I heard nothing. See what I mean?

 

[ilovechili]

Search for missing cruise ship passenger wearing pink pyjamas who couldn't swim abandoned in rough seas

Nothing really new in this article. A few passenger comments.

I do not really understand why this is so quiet, I thought I guess we would hear by now of how she went overboard/why. It is almost like it never happened.

This one says they saved two men while looking for her and has some other comments that seem to refer to the conditions not being ideal, with a lot of wind, etc. It also says her family said she cannot swim. Team hunting for missing cruise ship woman in pink pyjamas save stranded men

 

[Momof4RN]

Search for missing cruise ship passenger wearing pink pyjamas who couldn't swim abandoned in rough seas

Nothing really new in this article. A few passenger comments.

I do not really understand why this is so quiet, I thought I guess we would hear by now of how she went overboard/why. It is almost like it never happened.

This one says they saved two men while looking for her and has some other comments that seem to refer to the conditions not being ideal, with a lot of wind, etc. It also says her family said she cannot swim. Team hunting for missing cruise ship woman in pink pyjamas save stranded men

IF the reports are correct and they indeed saw her go overboard on surveillance cameras then they know what happened. Since there’s been no word of an arrest or even any LE activity on the ship one can conclude it does not involve foul play and was either an accidental fall (IMO less likely) or suicide. In the event of suicide, Koreans are known to be very conservative and private, so i’m Sure they are trying to keep things private out of respect for the family. JMO
My thought is we won’t hear anymore about this unless she is found.

 

[indicolite22]

I do not really understand why this is so quiet, I thought I guess we would hear by now of how she went overboard/why. It is almost like it never happened.

The cruise line wants to get this out of the news. They only gave information on Twitter in replies to passenger asks. The media might not be too interested any more either and the family might want privacy. I hope there is an investigation, though I'm not sure how much will the public learn about it. Sadly nothing more could be done for the woman who went overboard, especially if she was a non-swimmer.

 

[indicolite22]

IF the reports are correct and they indeed saw her go overboard on surveillance cameras then they know what happened.

It's also possible that the cameras only recorded close to the water and there is no way of telling what happened on the balcony (and we don't know the area of the ship where it happened). Details of this incident might come out in an investigative report, if it's ever published.

 

[ilovechili]

IF the reports are correct and they indeed saw her go overboard on surveillance cameras then they know what happened. Since there’s been no word of an arrest or even any LE activity on the ship one can conclude it does not involve foul play and was either an accidental fall (IMO less likely) or suicide. In the event of suicide, Koreans are known to be very conservative and private, so i’m Sure they are trying to keep things private out of respect for the family. JMO
My thought is we won’t hear anymore about this unless she is found.

I have thought of the want of privacy and suicide angle although I do not know that it would be respected since they were on a cruise and not in their own country when it comes to transparency, etc. Certainly possible though.

I agree they appear to have camera footage and they know what happened or at least saw her on it.

There was one remark in passenger comments yesterday that leaves me wondering. As to LE, I am not sure if not wanting to panic passengers any further, they could not have done that without passengers being too aware of it, it is a huge ship. If one thinks about it, even if they have footage of her jumping for instance, he would still be questioned as to where he was, what he was aware of, if he knew why and so forth, what their evening was like, did they argue and so forth. I would think so anyhow but who knows...

The last article I linked refers to the rough waters and wind. Based on other posters' thoughts yesterday and knowledge of cruises, etc.,, I concluded she could not have went over by the ship rocking or listing to one side and throwing her off balance, due to deck rail height, etc. and because it is a huge ship. It certainly was an issue in rescuing the two men though.

I as a nonswimmer can tell you I would never commit suicide by drowning, it would be one of my last choices, it would not be in my choices actually. However, I am not suicidal to understand the thoughts of someone that is.

All jmo.

 

[ilovechili]

It's also possible that the cameras only recorded close to the water and there is no way of telling what happened on the balcony (and we don't know the area of the ship where it happened). Details of this incident might come out in an investigative report, if it's ever published.

I agree with this post and the one you had above it. Definitely the cruise company will want to see the story go away as quickly as possible, that is not a slam, just a fact, most of us know that and see it all of the time, and not just with tourism and travel industries. I also wonder if the footage they have is just of her falling through the air and into the water in which case what happened and how may well not be known.