MIAMI — Two crew members died on board a Holland America cruise ship, and a fire broke out on a Carnival ship while both of the ships were in the Bahamas this weekend, officials said.
The two crew on the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam died Friday during an “accidental steam release” while it was calling at the private resort island Half Moon Cay, Holland America said in a statement on Sunday.
“There was an accidental steam release in an engineering space on board Nieuw Amsterdam, which sadly resulted in the death of two crew members,” the cruise line said.
The Bahamas Maritime Authority and the Dutch Safety Board were investigating the exact cause of the release, Holland America said.
A representative of the Bahama’s Coroner’s Court did not immediately respond to a request for information, such as the crew members’ identities and the cause and manner of death.
The cruise line said the conclusions of any investigation would be taken seriously. “Safety is always our top priority, and we are working to understand what, if anything, can be learned from this tragic accident,” it said.
Passenger Laine Doss said she was on board when the captain announced the deaths on the vessel’s P.A. system.
“We were celebrating the last day of the cruise,” she said, when the mood changed “to something extremely somber.”
The captain’s voice broke, she said.
“He broke down crying,” Doss said. “There was a moment of silence that the captain requested. And that entire scenario did affect the entire cruise. Things were canceled, joyous events were canceled, and we really just thought about mortality — the people who perished on the ship.”
Crew members were being offered counseling, Holland America said.
Dutch government inspectors determined the vessel to be “fully operable,” and this was “confirmed” by the U.S. Coast Guard, the cruise line said.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson said she was looking into the statement and was unable to immediately confirm it.
The Nieuw Amsterdam…
Read the full article here
