Millionaire former fashion boss who once owned Joop! feared drowned after falling off luxury 200m cruise ship in the North Sea
- Kai Wünsche, 81, is feared to have died after falling from a luxury cruise ship
- The former owner of fashion brand Joop! was reported missing by his husband
- The cruise ship and emergency services conducted a search on Monday for him
The millionaire former owner of luxury German fashion house Joop! is feared to have drowned in the North Sea after falling off a cruise ship.
Kai Wünsche, 81, is believed to have fallen from the 200m-long MS Europa luxury cruise ship near the Dutch island of Texel on Monday afternoon.
The cruise ship was on its way from Hamburg, Germany, to Antwerp, Belgium, when the former fashion boss’ husband reported him missing, Bild report.
Kai Wünsche, 81, (pictured) the millionaire former owner of luxury German fashion house Joop! is feared to have drowned in the North Sea after falling off a cruise ship
The exact circumstances surrounding Wünsche’s disappearance are not yet known, but Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which owns the ship, confirmed that an incident had taken place.
The Times reports that a spokesperson for the company said in a statement: ‘Our sympathy and thoughts are with the relatives,’ but did not offer any further details.
Following reports on Monday that a man, believed to be Wünsche, had fallen overboard, the cruise ship turned round and a search got underway.
The liner was joined in its search by a helicopter, aircraft and five boats, before rough seas forced rescue teams to call off the search on Monday evening.
The cruise ship was on its way from Hamburg, Germany, to Antwerp, Belgium, when the former fashion boss’ husband reported him missing
He is believed to have fallen from the 200m-long MS Europa luxury cruise ship near the Dutch island of Texel on Monday afternoon
Wünsche’s death is not being treated as suspicious, with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises confirming that CCTV footage showed no sign of an accident or anybody else’s involvement.
He became well known as a successful entrepreneur and at one time owned fashion brands Joop! and Cinque in the 1990s.
However, in 2002 his company was forced to sell off its fashion arm after filing for insolvency.
Wünsche was also convicted and fined for having bribed Hamburg’s chief building officer.
Wünsche became well known as a successful entrepreneur and at one time owned fashion brands Joop! and Cinque in the 1990s