Woman dies after falling off cruise ship near Channel Islands
A WOMAN in her 20s has died after plunging from the MSC Virtuosa cruise ship into the English Channel in a horror 2am fall.
The cruise ship passenger was winched out of the Channel today after falling off the vessel in the middle of the night.
A French coast guard spokesman said a helicopter crew spotted the woman and hoisted her out of the sea. It then landed in Tourlaville rescue centre in Normandy,where a medical team declared her dead. Her nationality is not known.
British and French cops are now probing the woman's death.
French coastguards confirmed on Saturday that the unidentified person disappeared off the MSC Virtuosa at around 2am.
The cruise ship was steaming from Lisbon to Southampton when disaster struck.
The ship originally sounded a Man Overboard alert, while sounding loud blasts in the pitch darkness.
Spotlights were then used to light up the sea, as aircraft from France and the Channel Islands attended the scene.
A French Navy helicopter led the search and rescue operation, and was supported by aircraft from the Channel Islands.
Infra-red cameras were used to locate the person, who would have struggled to survive in the cold water.
Tannoy announcements on board the ship described a "search for a missing person" and asked for "thoughts and prayers".
An emergency alert was received at around 3am French time, saying that a person was missing, a coastguards source told The Sun.
A helicopter was scrambled to a search area just north Les Casquets rocks, near the Channel Island of Alderney.
A plane from Channel Islands Air Search was sent to the scene from Guernsey, along with lifeboat crews from Alderney and France.
The £650m MSC Virtuosa, a Maltese-flagged vessel which features 10 dining rooms, 21 bars and five swimming pools and is capable of carrying more than 6,000 passengers and 1,700 crew, continued its journey to Southampton where it berthed.
The ship is used for a series of cruises to countries including Belgium, Ireland, France, Portugal and the British Virgin Islands.
The Virtuosa is now in Southampton, where crew and passengers have been interviewed by detectives.
A spokesperson 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."
Hampshire Police said: "Officers have been deployed to assist with enquiries relating to this incident.
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