TERRIFYING footage has shown the moment dozens of tourists were flung from their cruise ship and plunged into the ocean in a tragic sinking that left one dead.
Chaotic scenes showed passengers clinging onto the boat for dear life as it made its way from Paradise Island in Nassau to Blue Lagoon Island in the Bahamas on Tuesday.
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Desperate women and children could be seen crying out for help as they splashed around in orange life jackets, their cruise ship sinking deeper into the water.
The ferry, which offers popular excursions from cruise ships that stop in the Bahamas, held over 100 passengers.
It was only half an hour into the trip when the boat started to experience rough waves.
Kelly Schissel (@kellyswitz) posted her terrifying experience to TikTok.
Her video captured scared passengers in orange life jackets as they clung to the railings as the two-deck ferry began to tilt into the waves.
Passengers appeared to be falling to one side of the boat, and later, are shown jumping into the ocean.
A 75-year-old American woman from Colorado died in the accident, local police told Bahamas newspaper Tribune 242.
The police have since released a statement saying that the woman was found unresponsive as they helped pull the passengers and crew members from the water.
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They gave her CPR and took her to the dock where she was declared dead.
Schissel has posted an update since she captured the video of the sinking.
Of the tragedy, Schissel said: “One of the crewmembers who was downstairs ran upstairs and was crying, freaking out, absolutely bawling, and grabbing a life jacket. And then that’s when everybody was like … this is real, something’s happening.”
In her account, she mentioned that several of the crew members were crying and unable to instruct the passengers on what to do.
“Once we realized we were starting to sink, and we saw the water coming in, people were screaming and people were freaking out, so we all got our life jackets on.
“We were waiting for the staff to direct us on what to do, and they didn’t.”
She also heard that according to other passengers, the captain of the ferry was laughing because he tried to show off his boat driving skills and it didn’t work out.
At the time of the accident, not many boats were in the area, Schissel boarding a fisherman’s boat that turned around to pick up passengers.
Eventually, rescue boats arrived and brought passengers to shore.
Though the victim did not die on the cruise ship, Royal Caribean made a statement.
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“We are saddened to hear that one of our guests passed away following an accident on a shore excursion in Nassau, The Bahamas,” the spokesperson said.
“Our hearts are with the families involved and our Care Team has been activated to support them during this difficult time.”
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