Two Americans tourists have died in two separate drowning incidents on Celebration Key, Carnival Cruise’s newly-opened private island in the Bahamas.
Shortly before noon, police were alerted to an incident.
According to the initial police report, the 79-year-old man was snorkeling at the beach when he became unresponsive. A lifeguard rushed to rescue the man from the water and brought him to shore.
“CPR was administered but to no avail,” police said. The man was pronounced dead.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m., police were called for another incident on a commercial vessel. Police found a woman who “became unresponsive while swimming in a pool,” according to initial reports. She was assisted out of the water by a lifeguard and given CPR, but there too, all help came too late.
The identities of the two victims have not been released.
Autopsies will be performed to determine the exact causes of death, police said.
In recent days, multiple cruiseships were forced to change course when Hurricane Erin intensified into a Category 5 storm on Aug. 16.
Carnival’s Sunshine annulled its Bermuda stops and will instead set course for Celebration Keys.
Carnival estimates that the resort will initially attract more than 2 million guests a year, hoping to double that number by 2028.
Currently, the resort’s pier can accommodate two of the cruiseliner’s largest ships, though construction of an extension is underway to accommodate another two ships.
“The economic impact for Grand Bahama is substantial, with hundreds of long-term jobs created by daily operations,” Carnival said.
NTD has reached out to Carnival and has not received a response by publication time.