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Crewman killed in accident on world's biggest cruise ship Crewman killed in accident on world's biggest cruise ship
(about 3 hours later)
A Filipino crewman has been killed during a safety drill on the world’s biggest cruise liner, the Harmony of the Seas, as it was docked in southern France. One person has died and four others have been injured, two of them critically, after a lifeboat fell from the world’s largest cruise liner while it was docked at Marseille.
The 42-year-old crewman, and four others whose nationalities were not released, were onboard a lifeboat when it became detached from the ship in Marseille and fell 10 metres (35ft) into the water, said the city’s deputy mayor, Julien Ruas. The boat, with five crew members on board, reportedly detached from the fifth deck of the Harmony of the Seas during a training exercise and fell 10 metres (30ft) into the water.
Two crewmen were seriously injured and were evacuated to a hospital in the Mediterranean city, Ruas said. He said it was not immediately known why the lifeboat had become detached. The dead crewman was said to be a 42-year-old from the Philippines. French press reports said three of the injured were also Filipino and the fourth was Indian.
A fire service spokesman said: “One person is dead and four are injured, including two whose lives are in danger.” Julien Ruas, a deputy mayor of Marseille, said two of the injured men were in a critical condition in Marseille Nord hospital and the other two were being treated for “serious multiple injures”.
The Harmony of the Seas arrived in Marseille early on Tuesday from the Spanish island of Mallorca. French gendarmes have opened an inquiry into the cause of the accident and are examining why cables attaching the lifeboat to the liner suddenly broke.
The 120,000-tonne liner, operated by Florida-based Royal Caribbean, entered service in May. At 66 metres (217ft), it is the widest cruise ship ever built, while its 362-metre length makes it 50 metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower. The Harmony of the Seas is a 120,000-tonne liner operated by Royal Caribbean, based in Florida. It is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, and five times the volume of the Titanic. It has 16 decks and can carry nearly 6,400 passengers and 2,400 crew. It had sailed to Marseille from Palma, in Majorca.
It has 16 decks and can carry more than 6,000 passengers and 2,400 crew. Royal Caribbean said: “We regret the sad death of a crew member of the Harmony of the Seas that happened this morning during a rescue exercise in the port of Marseille. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and other members of our crew.”
On its maiden voyage it sailed from Southampton to Barcelona. STX France, the shipyard, where the Harmony of the Seas was built, has signed a “letter of intention” with Royal Caribbean to build three new ocean liners for around €2.5bn (£2.1bn).
Among the onboard attractions are the Ultimate Abyss, a 10-storey slide from the top deck to the main deck, which Royal Caribbean bills as the world’s biggest ship-mounted waterslide.
A giant climbing wall, a rope slide, mini golf, surf simulator, floating jacuzzis, casino and 1,400-seat theatre playing Broadway musicals are among the other attractions.
Royal Caribbean has ordered a sister ship of the Harmony to join its fleet in 2018.