“Tragic discovery”: Young woman found dead after falling overboard Pacific Explorer

A young woman has been found dead after falling overboard from a cruise ship off the South Australian coast last night.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority told ABC News that rescue helicopters found the body of a 23-year-old woman at around 7am this morning after she fell overboard from Pacific Explorer about 45km off the coast of Cape Jaffa just after 11pm last night.

The Carnival Australia-owned ship left Melbourne on Tuesday and was heading for Kangaroo Island when the incident occurred.

The ship reportedly remained off the coast of Cape Jaffa to assist authorities with the search.

Carnival Australia is yet to respond to Travel Weekly’s request for comment, however, the cruise line issued a statement to ABC News thanking those involved in the “distressing and challenging search operation”.

“This tragic discovery comes after an overnight search and rescue operation,” a spokesperson for the cruise line said.

“We continue to provide care and assistance to the family member this guest was travelling with and extend our deepest condolences to their loved ones.”

The spokesperson said Pacific Explorer’s crew and guests were “deeply impacted”, and that the cruise line would work with relevant authorities to provide any assistance required.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s duty manager Dan Gillis told ABC Radio Adeliade that weather conditions overnight were “extremely poor” with “about 25 knots of wind, around about 4 metre swells running”.

“… it was very poor search conditions,” he said.

Image: P&O’s Pacific Explorer in Brisbane (supplied)