Indian woman goes missing from Royal Caribbean cruise ship on way to Singapore
The ship's crew believes that Reeta Sahani jumped off-board. (Photo Credit: CruiseMapper)
During its journey through the Strait of Singapore from Penang, the northern island state of Peninsular Malaysia, a cruise ship reported that a 64-year-old Indian woman was missing from among its passengers onboard.
What
On Monday, an incident was reported involving an Indian couple, Reeta Sahani and her husband, Jakesh Sahani, who were returning to Singapore from Penang on the cruise ship Spectrum of the Seas. The couple had just completed their enjoyable four-day cruise when the wife mysteriously disappeared from the cruise ship.
1/2 My mother was travelling in Royal Carrribean cruise (spectrum of the seas) from Singapore. She has gone missing from the ship since this morning. Cruise staff are saying she jumped, but they have not shown us any footage and are washing their hands off @DrSJaishankar
— Apoorv Sahani (@SahaniApps) July 31, 2023
2/2 They didn't carry out any rescue operation and off boarded my dad. Is this even humane? Requesting urgent help from high commissioner of India, mea and Dr jaishankar ...pls help @DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia @PMOIndia
— Apoorv Sahani (@SahaniApps) July 31, 2023
On Tuesday, The Straits Times reported that the husband Jakesh Sahani discovered his wife was nowhere to be found in their cabin when he woke up that morning.
After searching the entire ship, Jakesh reported the incident to the ship authorities, who claimed that she jumped from the ship. However, Royal Caribbean did not provide any video or photo evidence to back that claim.
The couple's sons Apoorv and Vivek Sahani both took to their respective social media accounts to tag MEA S Jaishankar and urge for help in finding their mother.
The disappearance
Apoorv Sahani, who was not on the cruise with his family, tweeted out the series of events that took place after his mother went missing:
- Upon waking up on the morning of what was the last day of their four-day cruise trip from Penang to Singapore, Jakesh Sahani, aged 70, could not locate his wife Reeta , anywhere on the ship.
- Growing more and more agitated with every passing second, Jakesh reported about this incident to the ship authorities, who then informed him that their overboard detection systems had been triggered, indicating that something or someone had fallen into the Singapore Strait from the vessel (who, according to them was Reeta Sahani).
- The crew did not provide Reeta Sahani’s family with any CCTV footage that supported their claim and above that, they asked Jakesh Sahani to get off the ship as another cruise trip was scheduled to start.
- Jakesh Sahani was interviewed for a significant amount of time by police authorities regarding his wife’s disappearance.
- 39-year-old Apoorv Sahani also stated that his mother could not swim and that they are still in the dark about his mother.
What the authorities said
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reported that the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Singapore was informed of the incident around 7.50 am on Monday, July 31.
The cruise ship
The ship that the couple were on, Spectrum of the Seas, is the inaugural Royal Caribbean cruise ship of the Quantum-Ultra class that represents a larger and enhanced version of the Quantum-class, as reported by CruiseMapper, a cruise tracking website.
Royal Caribbean's spokesperson reported that the incident involving their vessel was promptly communicated to local authorities. The company refrained from providing additional comments, citing the privacy of the guest and their family. However, they assured that their team is providing full support and assistance to those affected.