Coast Guard calls off search for overboard passenger on Mexico cruise

A woman fell from her stateroom balcony aboard the Carnival Miracle, Carnival Cruise Line said

The Carnival Miracle and Panorama cruise ships. (Tim Rue/Bloomberg News)

The Coast Guard has called off the search for a woman who fell overboard from a Carnival Cruise ship near the coast of Mexico.

“After 31+ hours of searching, #USCG assets are standing down pending additional information,” the Coast Guard tweeted Monday afternoon.

FINAL UPDATE: After 31+ hours of searching, #USCG assets are standing down pending additional information. USCG conducted first light searches this morning off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico with negative results. USCG assets are transiting back to U.S. waters.

— USCG Southern California (@USCGSoCal) December 12, 2021

Carnival said in a statement that it informed guests Saturday on the Carnival Miracle that a passenger went overboard from the balcony of her stateroom. The ship returned to Long Beach, Calif., as scheduled on Sunday after a three-day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, the company said.

The woman was in her mid-20s, the Associated Press reported, but was not identified.

“Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our Care Team is providing support,” Carnival said in a statement.

A Carnival Miracle passenger told a California TV station that guests were woken up early Saturday morning by a message throughout the ship.

“About 3 a.m., we were awakened by a general announcement across the ship with a warning going, ‘Man overboard! Man overboard! Man overboard!’ ” Daniel Miranda told KABC.

The Coast Guard said Saturday afternoon that it was using helicopter crews and working with the Mexican navy to locate the woman.

The Carnival Miracle is a 963-foot ship that can carry more than 2,100 passengers. It sails from ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego.

From 2001 to 2019, 58 passengers and 14 crew died after falling overboard, according to the International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health. Cruise Junkie, which tracks overboard deaths, reported one death in 2020 while cruises were largely banned from sailing during the pandemic. The man died after falling overboard from a Royal Caribbean ship that was moored in San Juan, Puerto Rico.