MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Harmony of the Seas” crew member lost in the Atlantic; US Coast Guard on the search

The Harmony of the Seas cruise was traveling from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to its first stop of St. Maarten island on its seven-day Caribbean itinerary

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was searching for a British crew member who went overboard from a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Arron Hough, 20, went overboard 430 km off the northwest of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Coast Guard 7th District revealed in a telephone interview.

At the time the Coast Guard became aware of the incident, the Harmony of the Seas ship was traveling from its home port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to its first stop of St. Maarten island on its seven-day Caribbean itinerary, the Miami Herald newspaper had reported earlier.

The Coast Guard said it continued its search for Hough with an airplane and cutter ship.

Royal Caribbean Cruises said the missing person was a member of the “entertainment team” onboard Harmony of the Seas and that he did not show up for work on Tuesday.

“We are saddened to report that after a review of the ship’s closed-circuit camera footage, he was observed entering an area on Deck 5 at around 4am and was not seen again”, Royal Caribbean reported.

“Local authorities were notified and a ship-wide search for the crew member was conducted.”

The UK Foreign Office said it was providing assistance to the family of the missing person, according to a statement cited by Sky News.