Police received reports from the Pacific Adventure cruise ship at 4am on Monday that a person had gone missing in waters some 10 nautical miles from the Heads.
A vessel seen from the Pacific Adventure during the search for a missing passenger.Supplied
The P&O vessel was due to dock at White Bay in Sydney on the final day of a three-night Elvis tribute voyage complete with themed parties,karaoke and trivia,but was delayed as rescue teams searched for the missing man.
“About 10.30am,officers attached to Police Marine Area Command located the body of a man,and it was retrieved,” a police spokesperson said.
Earlier on Monday,a P&O spokesperson said the man’s family were being supported onboard the ship,which is carrying 2600 passengers.
The ship remained in the area and took part in the search-and-rescue operation led by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre,the spokesperson said.
A helicopter searches waters near the cruise ship.Supplied
A passenger,who gave his name as Greg,toldBen Fordham Live on 2GB that strobe lights were switched on to give the search team better visibility,and passengers could see multiple tug boats around the ship.
“We got woken up with the man overboard call and from there it’s been all on for a couple of hours now,” he said.
Another passenger said they were woken at 4am to an alert of “man overboard,starboard side”.
Some onboard described the feeling as “unsettling” as the ship stopped and started as the search operation unfolded.
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