SAN JUAN — The U.S. Coast Guard said it is searching for a Royal Caribbean cruise ship crew member who went overboard on Christmas Day — the fifth person to disappear that way since November.
Arron Hough, 20, a cruise ship entertainer, on Tuesday went overboard 267 miles off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean, Reuters reported.
The ship, which had just embarked on a seven-day voyage, was reportedly traveling from its port in Fort Lauderdale to its first stop of Philipsburg when Hough went overboard.
The Coast Guard said it is using land and sea vessels to search for Hough.
The Coast Guard said it was searching for missing crew member Hough, who fell off the ship 267 miles northwest of Aguadilla in Puerto Rico.
Talent agency Russell Smith Associates said in July that Hough would be joining the cast of Grease The Musical as a dancer on the vessel.
The agency said he was a new graduate of the Urdang Academy, a dance and musical theater college in London.
The college tweeted that they were praying for Hough and his family on Wednesday night.
Royal Caribbean said a member of its entertainment team on the Harmony of the Seas ship did not report to work as scheduled on Tuesday December 25.
“We are saddened to report that after a review of the ship’s closed-circuit camera footage, he was observed entering an area on Deck 5 at around 4 a.m. and was not seen again,” Royal Caribbean said. “Local authorities were notified and a ship-wide search for the crew member was conducted.”
The company says its care team is providing support to the family, adding that its “thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.”
Harmony of the Seas is currently sailing on an itinerary that left Florida on Sunday.
Its scheduled stops are Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Labadee, Haiti.
“We are providing assistance to the family of a British man who has been reported missing off Fort Lauderdale,” the British Foreign Office said.
“The Coast Guard is searching Wednesday for a missing crew member, who went overboard from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Harmony of the Seas 267 miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico,” the Coast Guard said. “Missing is Arron Hough, 20, of the United Kingdom. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a notification from the cruise ship stating a crew member went overboard Tuesday.”
