Patrol boats, helicopters rush to search scene
A spokesperson for the Italian liner company which operated the cruise confirmed yesterday that the ship’s captain had been alerted to the incident by a member of the O’Brien family.
It is understood Lynsey’s 11-year-old sister Imelda was with the transition year student when she fell overboard from one of the ship’s upper decks at around 2am local time (8am Irish time).
The 15-year-old from Fortfield Road, Terenure, was returning to her cabin on the fourth night of a family holiday at the time of the incident.
The cruise company Costa, which is based in Genoa, Italy, said the ship’s crew were alerted to Lynsey’s disappearance when the liner, Costa Magica, was in international waters.
The 105,000 tonne ship had left the Florida port of Fort Lauderdale on January 2 on a seven-day western Caribbean cruise with around 2,000 guests on board.
The incident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico around 20 miles off the coast of the popular Mexican holiday resort of Cancun.
Costa spokesman Luigi Norsa said the ship was bound for the Mexican island port of Cozumel.
He said the search began as soon as the alarm was raised. Crew members immediately threw lifejackets into the water in order to fix the location of the accident as the liner was at cruising speed at the time.
The captain of the Costa Magica ordered the ship to about turn, although it took at least 10 minutes to do so.
A helicopter and a number of patrol boats belonging to the Mexican Coastguard also rushed to the scene after an emergency call was raised.
Mr Norsa said the liner remained at the site of the search for around six hours before it was given permission by the Mexican authorities to continue its planned journey to Cozumel.
It is believed Lynsey’s family remained on board the liner before travelling to Cozumel to seek assistance from the Irish embassy in Mexico City.
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