A search and rescue operation for a female passenger believed to have fallen overboard on an Azamara-owned ship is underway off the coast of Palma de Mallorca (Majorca Island, Balearic Spain).
Authorities began the search after 2:00 a.m., Sunday morning, June 5. The coast guard was summoned to the Azamara Quest ship just hours after she left Barcelona.
A pair of Spanish coastguard helicopters and a ship aided the mission in the Mediterranean.
Despite the intense search throughout the day, the “middle-aged” woman whose identity has not yet been identified was not found.
A spokesman for the Spanish Coast Guard said that at 2 am, the cruise ship Azamara Quest had informed the center in Palma of a passenger who had fallen into the water 75 miles from Mallorca. All night long their helicopters Helimer 206 and 223 had searched for the victim during an operation that also involved a cruise ship and their ship Guardamar Concepcion Arenal.
The cruise ship had reportedly just sailed on the first day of an 8-day adult-only voyage to Spain with a call in Casablanca (Morocco).
Azamara Quest had been close to the port city of Cartagena (Murcia Spain) Sunday evening and sailed to Malaga (Spain Granada), where she was expected to moor early in the morning.
For more Azamara Quest incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.