A female passenger was killed Wednesday after an accident that occurred as she attempted to board the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship while it was moored off the coast of Sihanoukville, according to a statement from the cruise line.
Cunard, the cruise line that runs the Queen Elizabeth, said in a statement posted to its Facebook page that a female passenger died while boarding the ship from one of its tenders—a small boat used to transport passengers to and from the shore.
“Two of our crew members reacted very quickly and jumped in to rescue her,” the statement says. “She was then taken to the medical centre but despite our very best efforts she died.”
The statement says the woman died “following an accident whilst boarding Queen Elizabeth from a tender,” but did not elaborate.
Cunard spokeswoman Michele Andjel on Thursday confirmed that the accident occurred while the Queen Elizabeth was anchored in the waters off Sihanoukville.
Ms. Andjel said the passenger was treated in the ship’s medical center, but declined to provide more details about the passenger or the accident.
Kao Ratana, deputy Preah Sihanouk police chief in charge of immigration, as well as Kol Phally, another deputy provincial police chief, both said they knew nothing about the deadly accident
According to Ms. Andjel and an itinerary of the Queen Elizabeth’s journey, the ship left Southhampton, England, on January 10 on a 112-night trip.
The Queen Elizabeth arrived in Sihanoukville on Wednesday from Thailand and departed later that evening. On Thursday, the ship was at sea and it is expected to arrive in Singapore on Friday.
In a ceremony in 2010 in Southampton, Queen Elizabeth II officially inaugurated the 92,000-ton Queen Elizabeth, 72 years after her mother named the first Queen Elizabeth ship, according to an article published at the time in The Independent newspaper.
(Additional reporting by Khy Sovuthy)
