After news broke an Australian man fell overboard on a Brisbane-to-Hawaii cruise ship, relatives of the thousands of passengers spent hours riddled with anxiety, hoping their loved ones were safe.
But with Royal Caribbean failing to address how and why he plummeted into the ocean from the Quantum of the Seas deck as it neared Hawaii on Wednesday night, rumours started to run rampant onboard.
Passengers were ordered via the intercom to return to their rooms about 11pm as the ship shuddered to a halt about 1400km south of its destination.
From their cabin windows, shocked holidaymakers saw staff deploying rescue boats and casting spotlights over the waters below as a desperate search was launched to rescue the missing man.
Search teams deployed by the US Coast Guard set off soon after but the mission was suspended about 3pm once fuel supplies ran low. Air and sea crews are set to re-commence the search at first light.
When the grim incident hit headlines around the globe, worried loved ones struggling to get in touch with family members flocked to social media seeking information as the communication network buckled amid the bombardment of calls.
An Australian man went overboard from the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship in waters off Hawaii (pictured, stock image of the ship)
Search teams deployed by the US Coast Guard set off soon after but the mission was suspended about 3pm once fuel supplies ran low. Air and sea crews are set to re-commence the search at first light
But as passengers – and relatives – grappled for answers, misinformation quickly began to spread.
Among the whispers on the ship were claims the missing man was in his 70s and had moments earlier lost his wife to a medical incident.
Others were told he was a 25-year-old travelling with his mother.
Some said the fall and medical incident were unrelated and it was also claimed the man was married to a dancer working on the ship.
The leading version of events doing the rounds was that the man had lost his partner earlier that night, as relayed by radio caller Mark, whose wife and daughters were onboard.
‘There was a show during the night, and the music stopped before it was announced there was a medical emergency, and apparently the person passed away’ he told 2GB breakfast radio host Ben Fordham on Thursday.
‘About 90 minutes later, the call went out that someone went overboard, and it turned out to be the partner of the person who passed away earlier.’
The claim was quickly shared across news outlets and – subsequently – by word of mouth online, with many people confirming in comments sections ‘it’s true, I’m on this cruise’.
Quantum of the Seas crew launched a desperate search for the man who fell overboard
Other passengers quickly shot down the theory, slamming it as gossip, while some added the fatal medical condition was a heart attack.
One woman, who has family on the ship, told Daily Mail Australia she was informed the man was elderly and his wife had suffered a cardiac arrest in the elevator shortly before he went overboard.
Another person said the consensus on the ship was the man was 25.
‘It’s a very sad situation. I heard it’s the partner of an entertainer who passed away on the cruise,’ one woman speculated online, adding that her information came from ‘someone on the ship’.
Someone else told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I heard he had some mental issues and was travelling with his mother’.
A fourth person said friends who work on the boat had passed on that the man was 35 and connected to the woman who died.
‘It is believed to be his wife. They both have the same last name and were sharing a room,’ they said.
Meanwhile, dozens of concerned relatives desperate for information took to Facebook asking passengers for more details as they were unable to contact loved ones on the ship.
‘Can anyone tell me the name of the passenger or at least the age they are?’ one man said.
The cruise left Brisbane 15 days ago was en route to Hawaii, stopping at Tahiti along the way
Pictured is a view of the the Quantum of the Seas deck
‘My family are on board that ship. I am trying to get in contact to make sure it is none of them.’
Another desperate relative queried: ‘Has anything been confirmed whether it’s a young person, old or anything?’
In response, one man said staff had told passengers nothing.
‘No one other then the people close or some crew members know the whole truth,’ he said.
‘There’s so many rumours no announcements have been made.’
Meanwhile, passengers became heroes as they worked to connect strangers who had reached out to them online with their relatives onboard.
One woman offered up her iPad for those without internet while other passengers gathered a list of names of uncontactable travellers to take to the ship’s staff to chase up.
‘I have had a call from a concerned family member back in Australia wanting to make contact with ***** and *****,’ one woman wrote in a group dedicated to passengers on the ship.
‘I don’t have a cabin number and they don’t have internet . If anyone knows them onboard can you ask them to call cabin ****.
Another woman said: ‘If anyone on board needs to contact relatives or friends at home to let them know they are okay after last night and don’t have Internet, please feel free to message on here and I’m happy to share my iPad and Internet.’
More than six hours after being contacted for comment – and mass hysteria – cruise operator Royal Caribbean finally responded to this publication about 3pm.
But while a spokesperson confirmed the medical incident and the fall were completely separate incidents, little clarification was made about the events or the their brief and delayed response.
Different theories about the tragedy quickly began circulating online as the company remained silent
People shared conjecture they had read online or second hand information from people onboard
‘While on its trans-pacific sailing, a guest onboard Quantum of the Seas went overboard,’ the spokesperson said in a statement.
‘The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue operation and is working closely with local authorities.
‘Out of respect for the family, we will not share further details about this unfortunate event.’
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Beau Morton who spent hours on Thursday morning trying to get in touch with his parents, said it was disappointing the company did not provide any details that could have allayed fears.
‘It was heartbreaking to constantly worry about if it was any of my family members or not.
Mr Morton said he spent hours trying to keep up with all the updates about the situation – non of which came directly from the company.
‘Royal Caribbean could have done a bit better to provide any information,’ he said.
‘Even just the age of the passenger who fell so families whose loved ones on board who did not fall into that bracket had a bit of relief.’
Desperate loved ones flocked online in search for updates as they worried about their relatives
While he was finally relieved to get in touch with his family about 10.30am Thursday, Mr Morton’s thoughts immediately turned to the family who would have to deal with the heartbreak.
‘I give my condolences to them. It is very sad.’
Another woman said she was lucky to get in touch with her relatives but ‘could not imagine’ the torment of not being able to reach them for hours.
‘It would have been absolutely sickening,’ she said.
While issues on international waters can pose communication difficulties for authorities, this publication also faced an unusually long wait time to receive a response about the incident from the Department of Foreign and Affairs and Trade.
Five hours after being contacted, a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia it ‘stands ready to provide consular assistance’ to the Australian man’s family.
‘The Australian Consulate-General in Honolulu is working closely with local authorities,’ they said.
‘We acknowledge the ongoing distress for the man’s family and loved ones.
‘Due to privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further information.’
For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Horror at sea: Shocking twist in desperate search for Australian man who fell off a cruise ship
By Kylie Stevens for Daily Mail Australia
An Australian man who fell overboard from a cruise ship bound for Hawaii is not the to the partner of a passenger who died on the vessel during a medical emergency, the company has confirmed.
A desperate search was launched for the man when he fell from the Quantum of the Seas about 1,400km south of Hawaii on Wednesday night AEST.
The ship departed Brisbane on April 12 and had been due to dock in Honolulu on Friday after stopping at the Pacific island of Tahiti, cruise operator Royal Caribbean said.
Shocked passengers recalled how they were ordered to return to their cabins and ensure all travelling companions were accounted for before being allowed to leave their rooms 90 minutes later.
Bright lights were used in the desperate late-night search for the passenger as a US Coast Guard Hercules helicopter was deployed to scour the ocean from above.
The US Navy has also been called in to assist in the large-scale search.
The man’s identity and how he went overboard is not yet known at this early stage.
Tracking data shows the cruise stopped after the passenger went overboard but has since resumed its voyage and is now heading to Hawaii’s Kona Island.
The large scale search continues for the missing passengers in waters off Hawaii
Passenger Georgina Thompson and her husband were in bed when they heard the call ‘Oscar, Oscar, Oscar’ — the cruise ship line’s code for ‘man overboard’.
‘There were lights, you know, the big lights shining on the ocean,’ she told the Today show.
‘And also there were a couple of boats out there in the water.’
‘Then I got up and I went out to see what was happening. We didn’t know at that time what was going on.’
‘My husband thought we might have hit something or something like that, the way the ship stopped, but then we realised that there was someone overboard. No-one said anything at that time.’
Ms Thompson said the tragedy had rattled fellow passengers and crew.
‘We went to breakfast this morning and everyone was very sombre,’ she said.
‘I feel very sad for whoever it was.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk