Indiana toddler falls to death from 11th deck of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico

A toddler fell to her death on Sunday after police said she slipped from her grandfather’s arms on the 11th deck of a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico.   

The 19-month-old girl did not survive the fall from the Royal Caribbean vessel to the concrete of the Pan American dock II in San Juan.

The call to authorities came in reporting the child’s fatal drop at 4.27pm Atlantic Standard Time, according to Primera Hora.  

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. told DailyMail.com: ‘We are assisting local authorities in San Juan, PR as they make inquiries after an incident aboard Freedom of the Seas earlier today. We do not have further information to share at this point.’ 

A passenger nearby who didn’t see the fall as it happened described the mother’s screams in horror at her daughter’s death.

‘[We heard] the screams of the families because we were close,’ the passenger told Telemundo PR. 

‘I looked because of the mother’s cry. That tonality, a scream of pain of that nature, does not compare with any other scream.’

The child and her extended family from Indiana were vacationing together aboard the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line. 

The child’s fatal drop was reported to authorities at 4.27pm Atlantic Standard Time. A file photo of the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship is shown

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. told DailyMail.com: ‘We are assisting local authorities in San Juan, PR as they make inquiries after an incident aboard Freedom of the Seas earlier today. We do not have further information to share at this point.’ A file photo of the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship is shown

Department of Public Security Elmer Román said the grandfather said he was playing a game with the child when she tragically slipped from his arms.  

El Vocero reported the grandfather was holding the child when he slipped and fell into the window, and the child then fell from his arms to her death.  

People claiming to be familiar with the layout of the ship in an online forum said the 11th deck is a pool deck on the cruise ship, which would be the only place on the ship that would have open windows. 

The Homicide division was investigating the death, Román said.

Security camera footage from the ship has been requested by Prosecutor Ivette Nieves, who was conducting interviews with the passengers who observed the tragic fall. 

Passengers and crew were ushered to the opposite side of the ship, facing out to the water, while the preliminary investigation was completed.

Department of Public Security Elmer Román (pictured) said the grandfather said he was playing a game with the child when she tragically slipped from his arms. El Vocero reported the grandfather was holding the child when he slipped and fell into the window, and the child then fell from his arms to her death

The captain of the ship shared his condolences over the speaker on the ship and announced departure of the cruise would be delayed. It departed from the San Juan port at 10.24pm local time, according to MarineTraffic.com. 

The child’s paternal and maternal grandparents, her parents and her younger brother, among other relatives, were all aboard the ship at the time of her death. 

‘It has not been possible to interview the family,’ Román said, adding that they were being provided with medical and spiritual support. 

The child would have turned two in December, according to the family.

The child’s paternal and maternal grandparents, her parents and her younger brother, among other relatives, were all aboard the ship at the time of her death. The area surrounding the Pan American dock II in San Juan is shown