An American man has been hauled off a cruise ship after a woman was allegedly choked and pushed off a top deck, severing her leg and killing her, after a volatile altercation during their Caribbean getaway.
The man was hauled off the Royal Princess cruise ship by investigators in Aruba on Wednesday morning in relation to the death of the 52-year-old woman, who was his partner, according to sources.
The couple had been on the ship since November 9, embarking on an eight-day cruise around the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The man, described as being muscular, reportedly strangled the woman before tossing her from the ship’s 16th deck.
The woman crashed down onto a lifeboat and her leg was torn off, according to horrified passengers, who said the scene was gruesome with glass everywhere.
Photos from the scene obtained by DailyMail.com show yellow tape cordoning off the area around and below the lifeboat.
A man was hauled off a cruise ship after a woman was allegedly choked and pushed off a balcony, severing her leg after the couple reportedly had a volatile altercation during a Caribbean getaway. Pictured is the section of the ship which has been closed off by police. Circled are the police lines used to cordon off the crime scene
The man, described as being muscular, allegedly strangled the woman before tossing her from the ship’s 16th deck. Aruba investigators (pictured) are now performing an autopsy to establish if the woman was choked to death or died from the fall
Aruba investigators are now performing an autopsy to establish if the woman was choked to death or died from the fall. The FBI is now investigating the case as well.
The name of the victim and the man taken off the boat have not been released yet.
A source aboard the ship told DailyMail.com: ‘We are sailing the southern Caribbean. It’s the ship that [British TV station] ITV used for their show ”The Cruise”.
‘The gossip on board is rife. We were all woken at 4.30am by a security alert by the captain. We will be at sea for two days from today heading to Fort Lauderdale.’
A second source added: ‘We can literally see the lifeboat from our room. Blood and broken glass all over it.
Another passenger said: ‘We are on this ship too. Ten police officers came aboard. The announcement was a criminal investigation was to be conducted before we are given clearance. Two couples were asked repeatedly to go to customer relations.’
The fight reportedly began at the ship’s casino, on the Lido deck on the 16th floor, around 10:30pm.
The woman plummeted from the deck at 4am, landing on deck 7 on Lifeboat 2.
The fight reportedly began at the ship’s casino, on the Lido deck on the 16th floor, around 10:30pm. The woman plummeted from the deck at 4am, landing on deck 7 on Lifeboat 2
Princess Cruises said in a statement to DailyMail.com: ‘Princess Cruises can confirm that a 52-year-old American female guest passed away early yesterday morning aboard Royal Princess as the ship was enroute to Aruba.
‘It was reported to the local authorities who met and boarded the ship upon arrival. The cause of death is not yet known at this time.
‘We are deeply saddened by this incident and offer our sincere condolences to the family and those affected.’
Princess Royal will depart Aruba at 10pm on Wednesday night, heading towards Kralendijk, Bonaire. It will return to Florida on November 17.
The massive cruise ship has a guest capacity of 3,600 at double occupancy.
The cruise ship (pictured) has a capacity of 3,600 at double occupancy. Neither the woman who died nor the man who was taken off the boat have been named