A Carnival Cruise passenger has handed away after driving her mobility scooter off a pier (Image: Getty)
An American Carnival Cruise Line passenger has handed away after reportedly driving her mobility scooter off a pier and into the ocean.
The 88-year-old girl, who was a passenger on the Carnival Celebration, drowned on May 9 in Celebration Key, a vacation spot in the Bahamas. She plunged off the pier and into the water, and the Carinval group was unable to revive her.
The cruise line confirmed in a assertion that a “female guest using a mobility scooter drove off the pier at Celebration Key and fell into the water while Carnival Celebration was in port.” They added: “Carnival teams responded, successfully retrieving her from the water. Despite resuscitation efforts, she did not survive.”
A notice from the Royal Bahamas Police Force said police received reports of the incident around noon. Officers were then dispatched to the scene and opened an investigation.
The woman reportedly lost control of the mobility scooter and drove it off the pier. She is believed to have hit her head on the hull of the ship before entering the water.
The 88-year-old woman, who was a passenger on the Carnival Celebration, drowned on May 9 (Image: Getty)
Carnival Cruise Line staff were able to get her out of the water, and she was taken for emergency medical treatment. She later died of her injuries, which was pronounced by a local physician.
The investigation is ongoing, and an autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.
Another passenger aboard the ship, Edward Egersheim, claims to have witnessed the event. He told WSVN she appeared to have a heart attack.
“She had a heart attack, went off with the scooter, and banged her head pretty bad and then her husband tried to do what he could, and he ended up hurting himself as well,” he said.
Another passenger, Linsy Egersheim, added: “It’s vacation, you don’t expect bad things to happen, but definitely getting back on the boat was really sad, I mean, we walked past the scooter and all you could think about is that poor lady.”
The Carnival Celebration left Miami, Florida, on May 3 and traveled for seven days, stopping in Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas before returning to Miami on May 10.
Hantavirus cruise update
This comes as the world is closely watching the impact of a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius. After departing from Argentina, there have been seven confirmed cases of hantavirus, an incurable respiratory illness spread by rat droppings, and three suspected cases. Three of the 10 people have died.
There had been 18 Americans on the ship, who’ve since departed the vessel and now returned to U.S. soil. Most of them are at a facility in Nebraska, whereas two are in biocontainment models at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
