Greece’s Hellenic Coast Guard rescued a Salvadoran woman from the Ionian Sea, a part of the Mediterranean, after she jumped overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
The 44-year-old woman, unnamed by Greek authorities, went overboard Friday as it was sailing southwest of the island of Zakynthos, the Hellenic Coast Guard said in a release Sunday.
The woman was eventually found inside a life preserver the next day by a cargo ship that was helping out with the search, the Hellenic Coast Guard said.
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After being rescued and provided first aid, the woman was taken to a hospital on the Greek mainland for a medical examination. The Hellenic Coast Guard did not mention any injuries.
The woman told the rescuers, following her 20-hour sojourn on the open sea, that she jumped off the cruise ship because she “wanted to disembark,” a Hellenic Coast Guard spokesperson told French wire agency Agence France-Presse.
The woman was a passenger on a weeklong cruise out of Italy on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, according to USA Today.
“We immediately launched a search and rescue effort and are working with authorities. … For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share,” Royal Caribbean Group told USA Today in the initial aftermath of the incident.
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