Woman dies after going overboard on ferry

THERE was tragedy on board a night time sailing between Cherbourg and Rosslare Europort on Sunday after a woman lost her life having gone overboard just off the coast of the Isle of Wight.

The Stena Horizon had departed Cherbourg bound for Rosslare shortly after 3 p.m. and the incident occurred just a few hours into the journey. The alarm was immediately raised by staff on the ferry when the woman went overboard and the search for her began immediately. Lifeboats were mobilised and nearby vessels provided assistance before sadly the woman’s body was discovered in the water after around 20 minutes.

Gardaí were notified immediately and Wexford Gardaí boarded the Stena Horizon yesterday (Monday) morning to take statements in relation to the incident. Stena Line say that they had been instructed not to comment on the tragedy as a garda investigation is ongoing.

A spokesman for Wexford Gardaí confirmed the woman’s passing and stated that it was not being treated as suspicious. It is believed that the woman was travelling with her husband and was headed for the south of the country.

‘A woman lost her life in what we’re treating as a tragic incident,’ he said. ‘The alarm was raised immediately and she was recovered from the water by another boat within twenty minutes. We went on board this morning to conduct our investigations and a file will now be prepared for the coroner.’

At the time of going to print, the woman’s name had not been released as there were concerns that all family members had not yet been notified, however, she is not believed to have been a resident of the Wexford area.