A passenger on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship was blown off the gangway and fell into the water when strong winds caused the docked vessel to drift away from the pier. The incident occurred in Catania, Sicily, where the Norwegian Epic was docked. According to a statement from the cruise company spokesperson to People, the winds pushed the ship away from the pier, causing the passenger to fall from the gangway.
The gangway, a raised platform lowered from the ship’s side, is used for passengers to disembark onto land. The statement confirmed that the crew “immediately” assisted the guest out of the water and ensured they were “assessed by a medical team.” The passenger sustained “minor injuries” and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The spokesperson added that the cruise company temporarily suspended the disembarkation process until “the ship could safely dock again,” due to the ongoing winds.
According to details shared on CruiseMapper, the ship departed from Rome on Saturday, May 24th, and made stops in Greece, Malta, and France, in addition to Italy. After a 10-day voyage, it was scheduled to return to Rome on Tuesday, June 3rd. The extreme weather that caused the passenger to fall occurred a few days before the eruption of Mount Etna, an active volcano on Sicily, on Monday, June 2nd.
Footage showed tourists fleeing the area during the volcanic eruption, with smoke and ash billowing into the sky. Other videos captured pyroclastic flows—mixtures of volcanic gases, lava blocks, ash, and pumice moving at high speeds—rushing down the volcano. The eruption coincided with Italy’s national holiday, Republic Day (Festa della Repubblica), and occurred two years after Etna’s last eruption in May 2023, which had caused flight disruptions at Catania Airport.
