Royal Caribbean Crew Member Dies After Going Missing on St. Kitts Volcano Hike

He was hiking without a guide when he disappeared into the volcano's dense rainforest.

Published: 6/4/2026, 3:32:46 PM EDT

Royal Caribbean Crew Member Dies After Going Missing on St. Kitts Volcano Hike — A 2017 file image of an emergency sign directing patients to the emergency room at a U.S. hospital. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

A Royal Caribbean crew member has died after becoming lost while hiking alone on Mount Liamuiga, a dormant volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, authorities said.

The man, identified as Wang Zyuan, a 33-year-old Chinese national, was last seen on the mountain's trail at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, according to the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force. He was hiking without a guide when he disappeared into the volcano's dense rainforest.

At around 2 p.m. that same day, Wang called 911 to report he was lost somewhere in the Mt. Liamuiga mountain range. Contact with him was lost shortly after that call.

A joint search and rescue operation was immediately launched, drawing personnel from the police force, the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, the Fire and Rescue Department, and the National Emergency Management Agency. Teams worked through the evening and resumed the following morning, combing the hillside all the way up to the volcano's crater.

On June 1, the police force provided an update on Facebook, confirming Zyuan’s body had been found. Authorities said detailed information is not yet available and did not specify a cause of death. The police force did not return a request for comment seeking further details from NTD News prior to publication.

“We respectfully ask the public to refrain from speculation and to rely only on official sources for accurate information as this matter proceeds,” the police force wrote in their post.

Royal Caribbean confirmed his death in a statement sent to NTD News.

"We are saddened to learn a crew member has passed away," the company said. "Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time, and we are offering our support. We appreciate the tremendous efforts of the local authorities and rescue teams, who worked tirelessly over the past several days."

Mount Liamuiga, which rises 1,156 meters—roughly 3,793 feet—above the Caribbean Sea in northwestern Saint Kitts, is the highest peak in Saint Kitts and Nevis, according to AllTrails. The dormant stratovolcano sits within the Central Forest Reserve National Park and features a summit crater approximately one kilometer wide, with fumaroles and occasional rain-fed pools. Its last confirmed eruption dates to around 160 CE.

The hike to the summit is widely described as one of the island's most challenging tasks—less of a traditional trail and more of a jungle climb. The muddy, uneven path is notoriously easy to lose, with hikers often needing to scale steep slopes by gripping the slippery roots of exposed trees. At the summit, clouds frequently shroud the crater, and the dense, humid rainforest canopy makes navigation difficult even for experienced trekkers.

In the wake of Wang's death, authorities have issued urgent safety warnings to all prospective hikers. Police urged anyone planning to hike Mt. Liamuiga or any other trail in the federation to do so with a registered, qualified guide, to inform others of their planned route and expected return time, and to ensure their mobile devices are fully charged before heading out.