UPDATE 12:15 06/05/2024: A body has been recovered from waters outside Sydney Harbour this morning, presumed to be that of the missing cruise passenger who went overboard in the early hours of Monday morning.
Pacific Adventure was scheduled to dock at White Bay Cruise Terminal in Sydney around 6am this morning, the final day of a three-night Elvis-themed tribute itinerary.
The individual has not yet been identified, although a source told The Daily Telegraph it was thought to be a male in his mid-40s who fell from deck seven.
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
PREVIOUS: Carnival Australia have confirmed a search is underway for a passenger who went overboard P&O Cruises Pacific Adventure about 20 kilometres off Sydney Heads this morning.
Pacific Adventure was due to dock at Sydney Harbour at 6am this morning but is now searching the waters after a man went overboard around 4:15am.
One passenger told 2GB Radio he was awoken early by the announcement of, “man overboard, man overboard”.
“We’re doing a couple of knots, I can see the other boats out here and the helicopter,” the guest said.
“First of all, we dropped a couple of strobe lights so we knew where it was.
“We got woken up by the ‘man overboard, man overboard’, and from there it’s been all on for a couple of hours now.”
A spokesperson from P&O Cruises said the ship is currently undertaking a search and rescue operation off Sydney.
“Since this time, the ship carrying more than 2,600 guests, has been onsite searching along with other nearby vessels deployed to the area by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre,” they said.
“The family of this guest is being cared for by our onboard team while every effort is being made to find them.
“Pacific Adventure’s arrival in to White Bay Terminal this morning has been delayed while the search continues.”
Hopes for a successful rescue still alive
Joe McNulty, the head of NSW Police Marine Area Command said rescue efforts are largely relying on heat-seeking technology to find the missing person with seas as high as five metres in Sydney today.
“Hopefully we can identify a person by their heat signature in these cold waters,” Superintendent McNulty told ABC Radio.
“The search area was 18km outside Sydney Heads and covered a large area, spanning around 60 square nautical miles of water.”
A life ring dispatched from the cruise ship is yet to be recovered giving some hope to authorities that the passenger may still be alive.
“There is a person out there hopefully close to a life ring or in that life ring,” Supt McNulty continued.
“The timeframes for survival is still within the limits.”
The police are heading the search which will continue throughout the day today with the Pacific Adventure, vessels from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and surrounding boats join the search.
If you, or someone you know needs support, there are a range of services available:
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or kidshelpline.com.au
Headspace: 1800 650 890 or headspace.org.au
13YARN: Speak to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter on 13 92 76 or visit 13yarn.org.au
