The AP is reporting that a second person has died after arriving in Cozumel on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas cruise ship last Friday, February 4, 2011. We previously reported on the death of Royal Caribbean crew member, Monika Markiewicz, whose body was recovered Saturday from the sea off of Cozumel and is believed to be the victim of foul play.
The AP reports that a 24-year-old American tourist died Monday in a Cancun hospital from internal bleeding "after ingesting a safety pin that punctured her organs."
The state prosecutor in Quintana Roo, where both Cancun and Cozumel are located, apparently released two different names for the woman neither of which were released by the AP. The prosecutor also released information regarding the dead woman’s medical history and autopsy findings. A patient apparently has no medical privacy rights in Mexico.
The passenger’s death is apparently completely unrelated to the death of crew member Ms. Markiewicz.
We have reported on six deaths of Royal Caribbean passengers and crew members in the last 10 days.
February 9, 2011 Update: The Latin America Herald Tribune identifies the cruise passenger as Ms. Samantha Page Thomas (this article confuses the name of the cruise passenger and crew member). A newspaper in Mexico also identifies the passenger and contains a strange explanation of events. A press conference of the Mexican prosecutor is available on line. Warning, the video contains graphic post mortem images of Ms. Paige as well as a photograph of Ms. Markiewicz face down in the water when she was found.