A 12-year-old boy from Germany suddenly died while he was on vacation with his family aboard a European cruise ship heading towards Sardinia, Italy, according to multiple reports.
Newsweek reported that while the family was onboard the MSC Divina, they requested medical assistance in trying to keep their child alive, and despite the medical staff’s efforts to resuscitate the 12-year-old, he ended up dying around 3 a.m. on Oct. 22.
“While the staff of our Medical Centre reacted promptly, the health status of the child unexpectedly deteriorated. Despite several attempts to resuscitate the child, he unfortunately passed away. The cause of this matter has not been identified yet, however, out of respect for the deceased and his family, and to respect medical privacy, we are unable to disclose any further details,” the spokesperson for the MSC Cruises stated, according to Newsweek.
Fox News reported that because the cause of the illness wasn’t identified, as a preventive measure, the family of the 12-year-old, which consisted of his parents and two brothers, were taken to a hospital in Sardinia. There, they were isolated in order to determine what the cause of the 12-year-old’s death could be. According to Newsweek, the quarantine measure lasted around two to three hours.
According to Newsweek, the spokesperson for MSC Cruises had offered their condolences, and said that they were cooperating with the local authorities as well as with the officials of the Germany embassy to help out the family with repatriation efforts.
“We are offering our full support to the family at this extremely difficult time and a dedicated care team onsite is providing support and comfort. We are deeply saddened by this incident and offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and those affected,” the spokesperson said, according to Newsweek.
Newsweek reported that the 12-year-old had allegedly said that he didn’t feel well when they stopped in Civitavecchia, and after a medical examination, the boy and his family had gone forward with the cruise to Palermo the following day. By the time the cruise ship had set for Sardinia from Palermo, the boy’s health became worse, and before the cruise arrived in Sardinia, the boy had already died.
By the time the ship docked in Cagliari, Sardinia, the authorities were alerted of the boy’s death, but there was no investigation into the death, as the cruise company’s medics had determined that the cause of the boy’s death was natural, according to Newsweek.
