Woman dies after going overboard from cruise ship crossing the English Channel

A woman has died after falling overboard the cruise ship MSC Virtuosa as it sailed near the Channel Islands.

The Mirror reports that the alarm was raised on board at about 2am today (12 October) as there were 'loud blasts' and the ship's captain announced 'man overboard'.

Passengers told the publication that spotlights were used to try and find the woman who went overboard.

A further announcement said there was a missing person and it would lead the ship to be late in arriving at Southampton.

French search and rescue services were able to locate the woman who went overboard and got her out of the sea with a helicopter, but she was pronounced dead by doctors.

The cruise ship in question was the MSC Virtuosa. (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

British and French police have launched an investigation into the matter in an attempt to determine what happened, the service also said.

The body was recovered from the sea north of Les Casquets, a small island north of Guernsey.

According to the BBC, the 18 deck cruise ship has since sailed on to Southampton, having initially sailed from the Spanish port of Cartagena.

Survival rates for people falling overboard on a cruise ship are low, during a decade long period of measurement between 2009 and 2019, a total of 212 passengers were recorded as having gone overboard.

Sadly, of that amount only 48 survived, and although it is a rare occurrence crews are prepared for such a situation.

The ship has now docked in Southampton, and the woman's body was recovered by a French team in a helicopter. (SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP via Getty Images)

In the event that someone goes overboard, there will be an announcement of 'man overboard'. Alternative phrases for this include 'Code Oscar' or the crew talking about 'Mr Mob'.

Tannoy announcements make the fact public knowledge, whereas the codes can keep it quiet from some passengers if that's what the crew deems to be the best approach.

The ship will then log its location as part of the alert to make it easier to try and locate the person.

Stopping a cruise ship is not an instant process, so bringing the vessel to a halt will not provide a more accurate starting point for the search than making a record of the location.

From there search efforts begin, with the ship's crew participating and alerting other vessels in the area as to the danger. Official rescue teams can also be sent out from the shore.

LADbible has contacted MSC Cruises and HM Coastguard for comment.