Boat sinks in Caribbean ‘with at least 1 dead and 16 missing’ as P&O cruise ship helps rescue survivors clinging to hull | The Sun

March 28, 2023

A P&O cruise ship with Brit tourists on board is helping search for passengers of a boat after it sank in the Caribbean.

At least one person is understood to have died after the stricken vessel capsized off the coast of St Kitts.

A P&O cruise ship, The Britannia, is assisting the coastguard's efforts.

It is understood around 31 people were on board the vessel, with one killed and 15 still missing.

A spokesman for P&O Cruises told The Sun: "We are working with the coastguard to lead the search and rescue operation with another ship."

The 30ft boat is said to have been "dangerously overcrowded" when it started sinking, according to local media reports.

Local reports claim the vessel was en route from Antigua to St Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands.

It got into trouble only 12 nautical miles off the coast of St Kitts, and was spotted at 3am by a passing luxury yacht.

Terrified passengers were seen clinging to the edge of the vessel as the rescue was underway.

The rescue comes only hours after a passenger on the same cruise ship died while snorkelling in the Caribbean with his family.

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The tourist arrived in St Kitts on Monday on board the cruise ship Britannia on Monday.

He got into difficulty while snorkelling with his wife and daughter as part of a group activity at Peninsular Cove.

The dad was taken to shore where a fellow tourist performed CPR, but could not be saved and died at the scene.

Authorities are carrying out an autopsy as it is unclear whether he drowned or died of natural causes, reports St Kitts & Nevis Observer.

The Britannia is the flagship of P&O's fleet with 13 bars and 13 restaurants on board, as well as 1,837 cabins.

The Sun has contacted St Kitts Police and Coastguard for comment.