July 7 (UPI) — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Sunday that it had suspended its search for a Carnival Cruise Lines crew member who fell overboard on Thursday.
The Coast Guard said it was unable to locate the missing crew member from the Carnival Victory after searching about 2,600 square nautical miles for more than 45 hours.
“We’ve been in contact with the crew member’s family throughout our search efforts and know this is a very difficult time for them,” Coast Guard 7th District search and rescue mission coordinator Michael Mullen said. “Suspending a search is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make as first responders and it is never made lightly.”
Coast Guard officials said the 37-year-old man fell off the cruise ship approximately 30 miles northwest of Cuba.
The search will remain suspended pending the development of any new information about the crewmember’s whereabouts, the Coast Guard said.
