Cruise Ship Passenger Dies after Going Overboard

A cruise ship passenger who went overboard near the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been pronounced dead.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the 73-year-old male was unresponsive when he was recovered by a helicopter rescue crew from the water near the west coast Canada/U.S. border.

The overboard passenger was transferred to local Emergency Medical Service personnel waiting on shore and then to the Olympic Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased.

Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Command Center watchstanders had received communication from the cruise ship Seven Seas Mariner reporting the man had gone overboard at approximately 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

A Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles aircrew, two Station Neah Bay boat crews, the Coast Guard Cutter Wahoo crew and a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter crew thoroughly searched the area before locating and recovering the individual.

The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.