For one family, their Christmas cruise has turned into an unimaginable tragedy.
An 82-year-old cruise guest unfortunately lost her life in an unusual, but tragic accident while visiting the Eastern Caribbean port of Philipsburg, St. Maarten, on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
According to the Police Force of Sint Maarten, the incident unfolded at around 5 p.m. local time at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities – after authorities received a distressing call about a tourist falling into the water from her electric wheelchair.
“The Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) announces with deep regret a tragic incident that took place at approximately 5:00 PM at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities,“ The Police Force of Sint Maarten shared.
“At the stated time, Police Central Dispatch received a report concerning a visitor from one of the cruise ships in port who had fallen into the sea from her electric wheelchair,” the police force added.
Initial reports suggest that the unidentified woman’s electric wheelchair malfunctioned, which led to her unfortunate fall. It’s unclear if she was using her personal device or if she had rented the wheelchair for the duration of her sailing.
First responders arrived quickly to rescue the victim and perform life saving measures, but she could not be revived. It’s unclear what injuries she may have sustained in the fall or while she was in the water – or if she already had health conditions that also negatively impacted the accident’s outcome.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that a malfunction in the victim’s electric wheelchair, an 82-year-old female, may have contributed to her fall into the water. Despite the best efforts of medical personnel to administer emergency resuscitation, the victim sadly succumbed at the scene,” continued the statement from the authorities.
While we have received a tip from a visitor in port that day that the deceased passenger was sailing onboard AIDA Cruises’ AIDAmar, this has not been confirmed.
Five other ships were also in the port that day – meaning the maximum number of ships were visiting – including Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2, Emerald Cruises’ Emerald Azzurra, P&O Cruises’ Arvia, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Ascent.
A Tragic Month for Cruising
December 2024 has unfortunately turned out to be a rather grim month for cruising – with this fatal accident following a series of man overboard incidents.
Just the day before this elderly passenger’s untimely death, on December 26, a 51-year-old man went overboard from Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic. At the time of the incident, the ship was sailing northbound from Ocho Rios, Jamaica, en route to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.
The appropriate authorities were immediately notified and a search and rescue mission quickly began – which was also assisted by Holland America Line’s Zuiderdam, as she was already sailing nearby.
But despite the best efforts of all the crew and first responders, the search effort concluded without success.
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Earlier in the month, on December 21, a female passenger attempted to jump from Princess Cruises’ Sky Princess – but hit a lifeboat and fell to a lower deck.
Despite the onboard medical team’s best efforts, the 48-year-old guest succumbed to her injuries.
Even earlier in December, both Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas and another Princess Cruises ship – Ruby Princess – experienced man-overboard situations that ended in tragedy.
That said, the incident on Ruby Princess was unique – as the unidentified 72-year-old American wasn’t reported as missing until the cruise’s conclusion and it’s unclear when he actually went overboard.
Cruise Hive’s thoughts are with the family members, travel companions, and friends who have lost their loved ones.
