PHILIPSBURG — A tragic accident at Sint Maarten’s cruise port claimed the life of an 82-year-old cruise passenger last week.
The woman reportedly fell into the water from her electric wheelchair while on the pier at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities.
According to the Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM), the incident occurred around 5:00 p.m. local time. Authorities believe a malfunction in the wheelchair may have caused the accident. Emergency responders quickly arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim, who was pronounced dead shortly after being pulled from the water.
In an official statement, police expressed their condolences, saying, “Preliminary investigations suggest that a malfunction in the victim’s electric wheelchair may have contributed to her fall into the water. Despite the best efforts of medical personnel to administer emergency resuscitation, the victim sadly succumbed at the scene.”
The woman’s identity has not been released, and it is unclear whether the wheelchair was her device or a rented unit for the trip.
A fellow cruise passenger suggested site:cruishat the victim was a passenger on AIDA Cruises’ AIDAmar, but this has not been confirmed.
Several ships were in port that day, including Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Ascent, P&O Cruises’ Arvia, and Emerald Cruises’ Emerald Azzurra.
A difficult month for cruising
This fatal accident is part of a grim trend for the cruise industry in December 2024. Just a day earlier, a 51-year-old man went overboard from Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic while en route to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.
The passenger was not found despite an extensive search-and-rescue operation involving Holland America Line’s Zuiderdam. Princess Cruises’ also had a tragic incident on Sky Princess in December where a guest tried to jump off the vessel.
Past incidents involving wheelchair passengers
This isn’t the first wheelchair-related incident in the region. In 2019, a dramatic rescue occurred in St. Thomas when two men leaped into the water to save a young wheelchair user who had accidentally rolled off the dock.
Video footage showed the men working together to keep her afloat until she could be pulled to safety. Carnival Cruise Line later confirmed that the passenger was uninjured and provided her with a replacement wheelchair for the remainder of her trip.
This incident comes as Sint Maarten is experiencing a massive rebound in cruise passengers. The Port Sint Maarten Group has projected over 1.5 million cruise passengers in 2025.
SOURCE: Cruise Radio
