A Carnival Cruise Line passenger died after she reportedly ‘lost control’ of her mobility scooter and ‘drove off’ the pier at the cruise line’s private Bahamas destination, Celebration Key
A Carnival Cruise Line passenger has died after reportedly losing control of her mobility scooter and driving off a pier in the Bahamas.
The 88-year-old American woman fell into the water shortly before midday on Saturday (May 9) while the Carnival Celebration cruise was docked at Celebration Key, a resort built by the cruise line, during a seven-day Eastern Caribbean voyage. The vessel departed Miami on May 3 and returned to port on May 10, according to CruiseMapper.
Carnival Cruise Line confirmed 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 on May 9”. The company added: “Carnival teams responded, successfully retrieving her from the water. Despite resuscitation efforts, she did not survive.”
The cruise line said the woman’s body was taken by the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the coroner’s office for examination. The force said it was investigating the death of an 88-year-old American woman, who “reportedly lost control and drove off the pier” shortly after 12pm local time (5pm BST).
“During the incident, she is believed to have struck her head against the hull of the vessel before entering the water,” the police statement said. “Despite efforts to save her life, she later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead by a local physician.”
Edward and Linsy Egersheim, two passengers who witnessed the incident, told South Florida outlet WSVN 7 News that the woman appeared to suffer a heart attack at the time of the incident.
Mr Egersheim said: “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.”
Ms Egersheim said “getting back on the boat was really sad”. “We walked past the scooter and all you could think about is that poor lady,” she added.
The victim’s identity has not been publicly released. Her cause of death has yet to be determined.
