Woman Dies After Falling Overboard From Cruise Ship Off Channel Islands

A woman in her 20s has died after falling from the MSC Virtuosa cruise ship into the English Channel. According to a report by BBC, a distress signal was issued by the 18-deck cruise ship, after the woman went overboard near Les Casquets rocks, west of Alderney, around midnight on Saturday. One passenger told the BBC an alarm rang three times to signal a person had gone overboard.

A plane from Channel Islands Air Search was dispatched from Guernsey to scour the area, while lifeboat crews from both Alderney and France rushed to the scene. Additionally, a French helicopter crew based near Cherbourg joined the search and rescue operation, working in tandem to locate and retrieve the woman. 

Though rescuers retrieved her from the water and rushed her to the hospital, she was pronounced dead despite medical efforts. The woman's identity and nationality have not been publicly released.

A French coastguard spokesman said, ''The H160 helicopter finds the person in its search area and hoists them out. The helicopter lands at the Tourlaville rescue centre where a medical team declared the dead.''

The ship's owner MSC Cruises said: "A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton.  The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time. Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.''

British and French police are now probing the woman's death.

The MSC Virtuosa, a Maltese-flagged cruise ship, is 331 meters (1,086 feet) in length and 43 meters (141 feet) in width. With 19 decks, this mega-ship can accommodate up to 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew members. Currently, it is docked at Southampton, having arrived at 08:00 from Cartagena Port in Spain, according to MarineTraffic.