A British woman was rescued on Sunday, Aug. 10, after falling from a cruise ship and spending 10 hours in the Adriatic Sea.
The woman, named by British media as Kay Longstaff, plunged into the water about 60 miles off the Croatian coast at midnight on Saturday after falling from the Norwegian Star, run by Norwegian Cruise Line.
She was very lucky to survive, according to experts.
Still images released by Croatia’s defence ministry show Longstaff, 46, climbing to safety onto the “Cavtat” coast guard vessel.
She appeared in good spirits, wearing a t-shirt and blue denim jeans as she arrived in the Croatian city of Pula on Sunday.
She told reporters, “I am very lucky to be alive.”
Speaking to Croatian television station HRT she said, “I fell off the back of the Norwegian Star and I was in the water for ten hours. These wonderful men rescued me.”
Croatian media reported that Longstaff was spotted at 9:40 a.m. local time about 1,300 meters from where she originally fell into the sea. Within a few minutes, a swimmer from the coast guard, Lieutenant Marina Delić, got her to safety. She was taken to a hospital in Pula, and is reported to be in stable condition.
The captain of the rescue ship, Lovro Orešković said Longstaff was exhausted.
“We were extremely happy to save a human life,” he told HRT. “I am proud of the whole crew of the ship, especially my colleague, Lieutenant Marina Delić, who swam to perform the rescue.”
According to the British newspaper The Times, Longstaff works as an air hostess on private jets. She is reportedly from Gloucestershire and now lives in Spain.
‘The Luckiest Thing’
Falling off a cruise ship is highly unlikely, but not unheard of.
According to the website Cruise Junkie, in 2018, 17 people went overboard on cruise ships.
Since the year 2000, 319 cruise and ferry passengers have gone overboard, their figures show.
It remains unclear how and why Longstaff ended up falling into the water.
Mike Tipton, a physiology professor at the University of Portsmouth, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the fact that Longstaff was found was “the luckiest thing.”
Tipton said that being female gives a certain advantage.
“In this particular case there was a fair amount of swimming being done, but because there was a female involved they have higher levels of body fat and are more able to float.”
‘Singing to Not Feel the Cold’
Longstaff survived ten hours at sea in part thanks to practising yoga, which kept her fit, reported one of her rescuers.
“She said she was singing to not feel cold in the sea overnight,” the unnamed rescuer told the Sun.
Longstaff had an argument with her friends and family that evening and could have been drinking, some passengers said, according to the Sun.
“Her [partner] was looking for her for hours before the alarm was raised that she’d gone overboard,” one passenger said.
The Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs spokesman David Radas said to the newspaper, “Our rescuers were in touch with the Norwegian Star’s crew and by checking CCTV knew the exact moment she fell in the water.
“Because they knew the time, they were able to know the exact position of the ship.”
The cruise line confirmed in a statement that the ship was travelling from Vargarola to Venice.
“We are pleased to advise that the guest was found alive, is currently in stable condition, and has been taken ashore in Croatia for further treatment,” it said, the BBC reported.
“We are very happy that the individual, who is a UK resident, is now safe and will soon be reunited with friends and family.”
From The Epoch Times
