‘Sang to stay awake’ in sea
Woman fell from cruise ship at night
PULA, Croatia — A British woman who fell from a cruise ship and spent 10 hours in the Adriatic Sea at night sang to stay alive, her rescuers said Monday.
The captain of the Croatian rescue ship that found Kay Longstaff, 46, floating 70 kilometres off Croatia’s coast said “luckily for her we saw her immediately because she raised and waved her hands when she saw us.”
Lovro Oreskovic told the Glas Istre portal Monday that Longstaff told the crew she practices yoga and she sang while floating to stay awake.
“It is a real miracle that she is alive,” Oreskovic said.
“On the cruise ship they thought she is not. It’s obvious that she’s very fit.”
Longstaff said she fell from the back of the Norwegian Star cruise ship that was sailing toward Venice shortly before midnight Saturday. The ship launched a search mission in the area of her fall, but could not find her.
Some 10 hours later, she was rescued by the Croatian coast guard and taken to a hospital in the town of Pula.
Hospital director Irena Hristic said Longstaff has suffered stress, but overall she is in good health. “The woman looks young, healthy and is a sports person. She said she swam all the time and was conscious.”
Dolores Brenko Skerjanc of the Croatian port authority told state broadcaster HRT that the Adriatic Sea is warm in the summer and that it contributed to the survival.