British tourist missing after falling off cruise ship
The ship was on a tour around Spain’s Canary Islands when the incident occurred
A British tourist fell overboard a TUI-operated cruise ship on 27 November, off the coast of the island of Tenerife.
The 76-year-old man fell off the ship, the Marella Explorer 2, at around 9:48am local time, and was seen entering the water while the ship was sailing to La Gomera, the second-smallest of the Canary Islands.
Search and rescue (SAR) operations have been launched to find the tourist, including the dispatch of two helicopters, rescue boats, and a specialist SAR aircraft. The cruise ship also initially participated in the search, but later docked at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the early hours of 28November.
Marella Explorer 2 is believed to have embarked on a seven-day tour around the Canaries and neighbouring islands on 21 November, prior to the incident.
Tenerife was battered by unusually strong waves earlier this month, which claimed the lives of three people.