Cruise Ship From SF Searching Pacific For Missing Crew Member Near Hawaii
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Passengers were reportedly confined to their cabins as the crew of a cruise ship that departed from San Francisco this weekend searches for a 34-year-old employee who apparently jumped overboard Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified shortly after midnight this morning that the crew member, a 34-year-old man who is a Filipino national, had gone missing from the Grand Princess cruise ship, Coast Guard officials said.
"The report indicated that crew member had been missing for approximately two hours and this occurred approximately 1,000 miles northeast of Oahu, Hawaii," Coast Guard spokesman Gene Myastas told KCBS.
A spokeswoman for Princess has since told KCBS that surveillance footage show the crew member intentionally jumping overboard. The man was last seen aboard the ship at 10:25 p.m. Monday, according to the Coast Guard.
A C-130 search plane, equipped with infra-red heat seeking device, was launched from Barbers Point to aid in the search.
The several thousand passengers on board have been confined to their cabins for a head count, according to Dr. Russell Darnell whose wife, son and daughter are on board.
"They are about midway between San Francisco and Hilo. She said they've been getting very conflicted messages on the intercom system but everyone has been ordered to stay in their cabin," he said.
Cruise Ship From SF Searching Pacific For Missing Crew Member Near Hawaii
Rescue efforts are also being coordinated with container ship Horizon Reliance through the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System, a computer-based global ship reporting system used to coordinate search efforts at sea, Coast Guard officials said.
The Grand Princess was scheduled to take passengers on a 15-day Hawaiian cruise, returning to San Francisco on Jan. 19, Benson said. The ship departed from San Francisco on Saturday.
The ship is carrying 2,607 passengers and 1,088 crew members, Benson said.
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