A crew member aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas stabbed a fellow crew member before jumping overboard to his death. The incident occurred on July 24th during a seven-night voyage from PortMiami to the Caribbean.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), the altercation involved a 35-year-old male and 28-year-old female crew member, both from South Africa. The two crew members were involved in a personal dispute, during which the man stabbed the woman several times before jumping overboard.

A man overboard alert and a search and rescue operation began around 7:30 PM. The ship slowed and turned around, and a rescue boat was deployed. The man was recovered unresponsive approximately 30 minutes later and pronounced dead shortly after. The woman “was treated and is in stable condition,” according to a news release by the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).

The same news release by the RBPF stated “An autopsy is scheduled to assist in determining the exact cause of death as the investigation continues into this matter.” The cause of the dispute and the two crew members’ identities and relationship have not been released by Royal Caribbean or the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Royal Caribbean released the following statement regarding the incident to Fox Business, “Our onboard security team responded to an incident involving two crew members in a personal dispute. One of the crew members was injured, was attended to by the onboard medical team, and she is now in stable condition. Unfortunately, the other crew member is deceased after he went overboard and was recovered in a search and rescue operation.” The statement continued, “We extend our condolences to the crew member’s family and loved ones. To respect their privacy, we have no additional details to share.”

The Icon of the Seas continued its scheduled voyage and returned to PortMiami on July 26th. The incident has not affected future voyages.

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Image Credit:

Icon of the Seas – Chakie2 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY‑SA 4.0); Icon of the Seas – Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty