A 12-year-old boy fell to his death from a balcony on a Caribbean cruise liner.
The Harmony of the Seas ship, run by Royal Caribbean Cruises, was on the final night of a seven-day trip around the islands and was heading towards Texas when the tragedy happened.
Witnesses say he fell over his cabin’s balcony railings and into the internal Central Park atrium area of the boat on Saturday night, shortly after playing with friends he’d made onboard.
Staff tried to resuscitate the youngster but he died before the ship docked in Galveston, Texas.
It’s believed the boy was travelling with his family, including two sisters, for a birthday celebration.
‘My daughter was friends with him and said he was upset today,’ posted Sara Tullas on a Facebook page for passengers. ‘She is so upset. I wish I would have known he was struggling today.’
Royal Caribbean confirmed the death had occurred on board and that staff were in contact with the family.
The cruise firm did not release anymore information but witnesses claim he fell from his family’s cabin on deck 14 to the Central Park atrium on Deck 8 at around 5pm.
‘We were a few rooms down and saw undercover cops investigating the room this morning,’ wrote Melissa Anderson on the Facebook page. ‘Birthday decorations on the door and inside the room, with a chair pushed against the balcony.’
‘It had rained that afternoon and the balconies were damp,’ added Becky Potter. ‘It would be difficult to fall if you stand on the ground, but if on the chairs or wet table top anything is possible.’
When it was launched in 2016, the French-built ship was the world’s largest cruise liner, able to accommodate more than 7,000 passengers.
Popular with families, it offers ‘endless opportunities’ for children to ‘make friends and engage in fun, educational, supervised activities with other cruisers in their age group’.
The boy had taken part in the cruise’s teen-club, and many passengers said their children had got to know the boy before his death.
The conversations I have had to have with my son really tripped me up,’ wrote Shannon Elizabeth from Belfair in Washington.
‘My son and him actually got really close on the cruise, and he saw too much of what happened.’
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told Metro: ‘We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of one of our guests.
‘Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time.
‘For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.’
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