Search called off for U.S. woman who fell from cruise ship
(Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday called off its search for a South Carolina woman who went overboard during a cruise ship dance party off the Cuban coast.
The woman, Kaylyn Rose Sommer, 24, of Charleston, had fallen overboard from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship on Thursday about 22 nautical miles (41 km) from Cuba, the Coast Guard's Seventh District in Miami said in a statement.
"It is believed the woman went overboard from a height of more than 80 feet (24 meters) above the water, while the cruise ship was under way," it said.
Coast Guard crews assisted by Cuban Border Guards had searched 1,378 square nautical miles (4,732 square km) for Sommer, the statement said.
The Miami Herald and CNN quoted a Norwegian Cruise Line statement that said Sommer had gone overboard intentionally. A company spokesman was not immediately available.
The incident came less than a week after a Brazilian man fell from a Royal Caribbean Cruises ship off the Bahamas. The company said he had gone overboard intentionally, and the Coast Guard has ended its search.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by David Gregorio)
