The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it was an isolated incident and passengers were not in danger. Still, according to a statement Monday, the agency is investigating the “suspicious” death of a woman on a cruise on the Carnival Sunshine between South Carolina and the Bahamas.
According to an FBI press release from the Columbia, South Carolina field office, on Feb. 27, Carnival Sunshine staff investigated a report of an unresponsive female passenger. The woman was pronounced dead despite the best efforts of crew members and medical personnel.
CBS news report that SunshineWhen the woman returned to the US on March 4, the FBI boarded the plane and examined the cabin where the woman was found. Carnival is reportedly cooperating with the investigation, which is also being investigated by authorities in the Bahamas. The FBI noted in its release that it typically investigates “certain crimes on the high seas,” including the death of an American in questionable circumstances.
The FBI can investigate many serious crimes on the high seas, including piracy, terrorism, hijacking, and drug trafficking. However, the agency’s investigative powers are limited to certain types of criminal offenses and situations and are subject to various legal and practical limitations.
Hannah Hierholzer, who said she was a passenger on the same cruise, shared it Charleston TV channel WCSC that there were several calls for a medical response team over the ship’s intercom. She said she thought, “Oh, that’s weird, maybe that happens all the time, because there are old people on cruises with a health problem or something.”
CNN quoted Carnival spokesman Matt Lupoli as saying in part that “the deceased and her husband have disembarked in Nassau and Bahamian authorities have already investigated the circumstances and are conducting an autopsy.” Otherwise, he said that Carnival is “fully cooperating”.
“This is a matter for the authorities in the Bahamas and Charleston,” Lupoli stated, “and we have no further comment.”
