Latest Update June 16 - 8pm EDT
The search continues in the Gulf of Mexico for a 50-year-old woman who went overboard from Carnival's Holiday late Monday.
About 10:30pm (local time, CDT) Monday evening (June 15), a passenger reported hearing a loud splash near the vessel, prompting the ship to turn and begin a search. Passengers were ordered to return to their cabins so a headcount could be done of all passengers and crew members to help determine if anyone had actually gone overboard. Meanwhile, Holiday put rescue boats into the water to search the water.
The headcount determined that a 50-year-old woman had gone overboard, and the Coast Guard was contacted shortly after 11pm to join the search.
The Coast Guard dispatched two cutters, a HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, a HU-25 Falcon jet and a HC-144 Ocean Sentry rescue plane.
The search area is approximately 75 miles south southwest of Pensacola, and has expanded to an area approximately the size of Rhode Island.
Holiday had sailed from Mobile Monday afternoon on a 5-night cruise. The first port of call is scheduled to be Cozumel on Wednesday morning.
The Coast Guard released Holiday from the search at 11:30am on Tuesday morning, and it has continued to Cozumel, although it will arrive behind schedule on Wednesday. The Coast Guard search is continuing.
Details were in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.
