Photo: Getty Images
A woman who died after attempting to dive overboard and instead crashed onto the lower deck of a Princess Cruise ship has been identified after sharing her final photos online days before her death.
Elizabeth McElmurray, 48, shared a photo of herself smiling alongside her mother on her Facebook page during their first day of the cruise at Fort Lauderdale on December 15, six days prior to her death, the Daily Mail reported. Several McElmurray's relatives posted tributes after her death.
“I never expected to lose my daughter. I want to also publicly thank the crew for their kindness and compassion during this ordeal,” McElmurray’s mother wrote in a social media post.
“She was an amazing woman that loved her family,” her younger brother wrote in another post.
McElmurray was part of an eight-day voyage from Florida to the Caribbean and back, which she is believed to have attended with her family.
“Princess Cruises is deeply saddened to confirm the passing of a 48-year-old female guest who attempted to jump overboard earlier today,” Princess Cruise said in a statement to Cruise Radio.
“The guest fell to a lower deck, where she was promptly rescued. Shipboard personnel immediately provided emergency medical care, but despite their best efforts, she could not be revived,” the statement added.
Princess Cruise said it was offering "grief support services" to passengers present during the tragedy. Several passengers shared their experiences on social media, which included one user recording the captain's announcement about McElmurray's death the following day.
“We understand that this event may be distressing for many of you,” the captain said over the intercom.
Several others shared their experiences on the Princess Cruise subreddit.
“My mom and cousin watched the whole thing. They were directly below us two floors down. Nobody ever came to question them. They are very traumatized by it,” one user wrote. “They said she hit everything on the way down and it was extremely disturbing. Someone held her by her arm for a couple seconds before she fell.”
Another user claiming to be McElmurray's cousin thanked others for showing their support to the family.
“I just want to say I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and concerns, and overall sensitivity to what happened, I won’t go into details as it was a very personal situation, but I will say she was really looking forward to this cruise, as it was especially important for her mother,” the user wrote. “Thank you all again for being so kind and understanding, my aunt would also really appreciate that."
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.