A passenger on the largest cruise ship in the world fell overboard this week. It was announced on Saturday that it concerns a 19-year-old university student from the US state of Washington, who was on vacation with his friends.
Sigmund Ropich, known to his loved ones as “boiboi,” had boarded Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas for a seven-day cruise with friends from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday, August 27, when he sailed off the coast of Cuba would have fallen into the water, his sister Savannah told the New York Post.
It is unclear how the boy ended up in the water and how long he was in the water before the search was started. “He’s a little shy kid who was always cool and composed,” she said. “He is a son, a big and a little brother, a cousin, an uncle, a friend, a roommate, a classmate, a colleague, a neighbor,” the shocked sister wrote on Facebook. “I want nothing more than for my brother to come home.”
The boy has not been seen alive for three days. “We have been told by Cuban officials that they have suspended the ocean search. They only keep an eye on the coast. I strongly suspect they’re going to end this search altogether,” Savannah said.
Search stopped
The Ropich family has received little information about Sigmund’s disappearance. Royal Caribbean refuses to say exactly how long the ship’s crew searched for the boy. Blog records show that rescuers searched the sea with floodlights and small craft for about three hours before the ship continued on its journey.
Savannah made an emotional appeal to continue the search for her brother. “We need answers. Please make sure we can take him home! Please, he had barely begun his life.”
Royal Caribbean previously said it had cooperated with the US Coast Guard in the search, but the military confirmed the opposite The Post that search and rescue responsibilities fall under Cuban responsibility.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.