The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Yoga fitness ‘helped keep Briton alive’
Survivor: Woman who fell from cruise ship rescued after 10 hours in the sea
Yoga fitness and singing helped a British woman survive for 10 hours in the sea after falling from a cruise ship, she is reported to have told a rescuer.
The passenger, named in reports as Kay Longstaff, was pulled from the Adriatic Sea on Sunday morning, after falling from the back of the Norwegian Star about midnight on Saturday as it sailed 60 miles off the Croatian coast.
The 46-year-old said she felt “very lucky” to have survived the ordeal and thanked her “wonderful” rescuers as she was taken to a hospital in the Croatian town of Pula.
An unnamed rescuer said: “She said the fact that she practises yoga helped her as she was fit.
“And she said she was singing to not feel cold in the sea overnight.”
Ms Longstaff reportedly fell from an aft deck of the Norwegian Cruise Line vessel as it sailed for Venice late on Saturday night.
She told Croatian news channel HRT: “I fell off the back of the Norwegian Star and I was in the water for 10 hours, so these wonderful guys rescued me.”
She added: “I am very lucky to be alive. I was sitting at the back of the deck.”
David Radas, Croatian ministry of maritime affairs spokesman, said that by checking CCTV rescuers knew the exact moment Ms Longstaff fell in the water.
“Because they knew the time, they were able to know the exact position of the ship,” he said.
Lovro Oreskovic, captain of the coast guard rescue ship Cavtat, said they were “extremely happy for saving a human life”.
The Croatian coast guard said the ship and an aircraft launched a search at 6.30am local time on Sunday.
The ship’s crew spotted her in the sea around 9.40am and one of the crew dived in to haul her out and take her to hospital.