A three-day party cruise has ended in tragedy after a passenger fell overboard just hours before it was due to dock.
Staff on P&O Cruise’s ‘Pacific Adventure’ ship, which had been brimming with Elvis fans who were enjoying a mini-break on the water ‘dedicated to The King’, alerted authorities about the incident shortly after 4am on Monday (6 May).
New South Wales Police were informed that an Australian man was missing after falling from the vessel 10 nautical miles off Sydney Heads in the early hours.
The P&O ship was supposed to dock in Sydney Harbour at 6am that morning after a three-day party which had been jam-packed with ‘themed parties, karaoke and trivia’ for fans of the rock and roll legend.
Instead, the Pacific Adventure was left lingering in the area for a number of hours as a massive sea and air search was launched for the missing bloke, who is reported to have fallen from the seventh deck.
Passengers on the Pacific Adventure had enjoyed a three-day Elvis-themed voyage. (Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
Some of the 2,600 passengers who were onboard the cruise for three-days of Elvis-themed fun claimed that they were enveloped by confusion as the hunt for the passenger was launched.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, one man said: “They didn’t tell us what was happening. They told us that there was a man overboard and that’s it. We weren’t told what his name was and what age he might have been.”
Another added: “There was zero communication from staff. We don’t know what happened.
“It happened at 4am and there was an alert that went out letting us know that a guy went overboard.”
Officials then announced that a man’s body had been pulled from the water at 10.30am on Monday morning, after rescue teams had been forced to battle through ‘very rocky and windy’ conditions.
NSW Police Marine Commander Joseph McNulty had earlier said that he had been hopeful that they would locate the passenger safely, as one of the three emergency life rings that had been flung from the ship had not been retrieved.
Rescuers remained optimistic that the unidentified male may have been able to cling onto it, however, swells which reached up to 5 metres were also hampering the search efforts throughout Monday.
The man went overboard in the early hours of Monday morning. (Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
Teams searched a 60-square-nautical-mile area and used infrared technology in the hopes of tracking the man’s heat signature, while another nearby cruise ship also joined in the search.
Tragically, the man’s lifeless body was later found.
P&O did not comment on how the fatal incident unfolded, saying that police were preparing a report for the coroner while staff onboard had been supporting the family of the victim.
A spokeswoman added: “‘Our crew and guests faced a challenging and tragic day. We thank our guests for their patience and understanding.”
The tragedy came the morning after another passenger on the three-day party cruise suffered a ‘medical episode‘ and was forced to be medically evacuated for treatment.