The rumor that he fell into the water from the balcony because he forgot to bring his keys is untrue. Exclusive: A passenger on the Aida Magic City fell into the sea after climbing over the railing.
At around 7 a.m. Beijing time on June 29, a passenger on the Aida Modou fell into the water after climbing over the railing. After nearly 13 hours of fruitless search and rescue, the cruise ship has now evacuated from the search and rescue area, and the search and rescue work of relevant rescue organizations is still ongoing.
The Aida Modou, where the passenger fell into the water, was on a 5-day, 4-night voyage, departing from Shanghai at 16:30 Beijing time on June 28. It was originally scheduled to stop at ports such as Jeju Island in South Korea and Nagasaki in Japan along the way. Unexpectedly, a passenger fell into the water when approaching Jeju Island.
Mr. Xu, a tourist from Shanghai, was on this cruise. He told the Jiefang Daily Shangguan News reporter that after a passenger fell into the water, the captain of the cruise ship immediately issued an emergency notice via the radio: Someone on the cruise ship had just fallen into the water, and the ship is now turning around to rescue the person in the water. Passengers are requested to understand.
Soon, the cruise ship arrived at the area where the passenger fell into the water, and the captain made another announcement, asking all passengers who could see the sea to assist the ship in checking the sea surface and contact the staff in time if they found any suspicious objects. Unfortunately, until 20:43, nearly 13 hours later, the passenger who fell into the water had not been found, and the cruise ship temporarily evacuated and continued to head towards Japan.
The reporter confirmed from Aida Cruise Co., Ltd. that when the Aida·Modu departed from Shanghai to Jeju, South Korea, the staff checked the surveillance video on the ship and found that an adult male passenger fell into the sea after climbing over the railing. At the time of the incident, the Aida·Modu was located at 32 degrees 17.7 minutes north latitude and 124 degrees 58.7 minutes east longitude, about 90 nautical miles from Jeju Island, South Korea. After the incident, the Aida·Modu urgently changed course and sailed to the sea area where the passengers fell into the sea, and carried out a comprehensive search and rescue work for nearly 13 hours. During the search and rescue process, the cruise ship received professional support and full assistance from the Chinese Maritime Department, the Shanghai Maritime Search and Rescue Center, the Korean Coast Guard and ships in nearby waters. Based on the latest search and rescue situation and with the approval of the maritime administration, the Aida·Modu has been evacuated from the search and rescue area, but the search and rescue work of relevant rescue organizations is still ongoing.
This morning, all passengers on board have received the explanation of the incident from the ship. The ship said in the explanation that since the search and rescue work is still in full swing, the subsequent sailing plan of Aida Magic City will be delayed, and the original plan to stop at Jeju Port has to be cancelled. Previously, the cruise ship had purchased the "Cruise Travel Protection Plan" launched by Shanghai Huanya Insurance Brokerage Company for passengers, but the itinerary changes and destination port cancellations caused by humanitarian rescue are not within the scope of insurance compensation. For this reason, the ship will return the Jeju port fee of HK$200 to each passenger in the form of consumption money, which can be deducted from various onboard consumption, hotel service fees and Japan departure tax. In order to thank all passengers for their understanding and cooperation in the search and rescue work, Aida Cruises will provide each passenger with an additional onboard consumption money of HK$400, which can be used to deduct various onboard consumption, including store shopping, spas, restaurants, paid performances, network communications, etc.
The ship issued instructions to passengers. Photo provided by Mr. Xu
Earlier, there was news on social media that the man who fell into the water climbed over the balcony from the next room because he forgot to bring his keys. The reporter confirmed from relevant channels that the rumor was false.
