A 62-year-old woman boarding an MSC Cruises vessel in Genoa, Italy on Saturday was killed when the gangway to the ship collapsed.
The metal walkway to the 3,300-passenger MSC Splendida crashed more than 30 feet into the sea, taking the woman and another passenger with it.
The woman, Maria Mercedes Bonastre from Barcelona was killed instantly when her head hit the dock. The other passenger, who fell, identified as the woman's husband, Fausto Del Charro Arraza, 65 reportedly suffered severe head injuries.
An investigation is underway however, the preliminary conclusion is that the walkway was not sufficiently fastened to resist the choppy water at the port.
The incident occurred as passengers were boarding the one-year-old ship for a seven-night Mediterranean cruise.
The metal walkway to the 3,300-passenger MSC Splendida crashed more than 30 feet into the sea, taking the woman and another passenger with it.
The woman, Maria Mercedes Bonastre from Barcelona was killed instantly when her head hit the dock. The other passenger, who fell, identified as the woman's husband, Fausto Del Charro Arraza, 65 reportedly suffered severe head injuries.
An investigation is underway however, the preliminary conclusion is that the walkway was not sufficiently fastened to resist the choppy water at the port.
The incident occurred as passengers were boarding the one-year-old ship for a seven-night Mediterranean cruise.
Source: The Maritime Executive
Off Radar Comment
This of course is bad news for the reputation of MSC in particular and the Cruise Ship Industry as a whole. Such a tragic fatality in today's 24 hours media driven world, which is linked to the sensitive topic of safety is always going to catch the headlines. This can project the perspective that Cruising is not an entirely safe activity, which is a realization that may make some potential future passengers think twice before going on a cruise. Such an incident could potentially happen to any Cruise Line, however if the investigation does show that the walkway was not sufficiently fastened, some heads may roll at MSC.
Cruising is of course a
