Woman jumps off Carnival Cruise ship into Gulf of Mexico

The United States Coast Guard is searching for a woman who jumped off a Carnival Valor cruise on Wednesday afternoon, approximately 150 miles offshore Southwest Pass, Louisiana.

The 32-year-old unidentified woman went overboard in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship had left from Cozumel, Mexico on Tuesday afternoon was completing a trip to New Orleans at the time of the incident.

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Passengers told local media that the woman jumped off the 10th floor after being handcuffed following a disturbance in a hot tub. They said she hit the side of the cruise before hitting the water.

“Security got her out of the hot tub. Whenever they got to take her into custody, apparently she was upset and went over the rail,” passenger Kim Barnette told WAFB.

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A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line, however, denied that the woman was not in handcuffs at the time of the incident. 

US Coast Guard Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom told local media that the Coast Guard’s 8th District and Coast Guard Sector of New Orleans launched a search operation immediately after being notified about the incident. 

Officials said on Thursday that an airplane is conducting search patterns off the coast.

Meanwhile, a video doing rounds on social media showed a life preserver being tossed into the water and a flare of red smoke coming from the waters. 

Carnival’s CARE team is currently providing support to the woman’s husband who was traveling with her at the time of the incident. 

“The ship’s command immediately began search and rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the US Coast Guard. Carnival’s CARE team is providing support to the guest’s husband who was traveling with her, as well as her family. Our thoughts are with our guest’s family,” Matt Lupoli, a spokesman for the south Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line, told AP.