SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Coast Guard rescue crews continue second-day search efforts Tuesday for a missing passenger from the “Croisières de France” cruise ship Horizon suspected of going overboard in the Caribbean Sea Monday morning, approximately 16 nautical miles south of Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Missing is Dominic William O’Carroll, a 67-year-old Irish citizen, who reportedly was travelling unaccompanied aboard the Horizon and was found to be missing following a passenger count, after a crewmember reported seeing an object going overboard early Monday morning. The Horizon was travelling from La Romana, Dominican Republic to the island of St. Maarten. William O’Carroll reportedly was last sighted by security cameras in several locations aboard the cruise ship prior to the incident.
Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received notification of the incident from the Horizon at approximately 5a.m. Monday. A Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was launched and the Coast Guard Cutter Drummond was diverted to search for the missing passenger.
Coast Guard assets and rescue crews involved in the search are:
– MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
– The Coast Guard Cutter Drummond, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
– A 33-foot Special Purpose Craft Law-Enforcement vessel from Coast Guard Boat Station San Juan and one from Coast Guard Boat Station St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.