Cruise Passenger Rescued Near Zakynthos After About 20 Hours
The passenger was recovered conscious after a cargo ship spotted her flashing light. Her reported explanation for entering the water has not been established as a final finding.
A cruise passenger was reported overboard southwest of Zakynthos, Greece, on October 9, 2026, and was found alive in a lifebuoy the next day after approximately 20 hours in the water. CBS News identifies her as a 44-year-old woman from El Salvador and the ship as Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas. The Hellenic Coast Guard’s official notice confirms the search and rescue.
The container ship MSC Rossella III spotted the passenger’s flashing light. A Coast Guard vessel recovered her while she was conscious, provided first aid, took her to Katakolo, and transported her to a hospital in Pyrgos. The Katakolo Port Authority opened a preliminary investigation.
The precise time she entered the water is not established in the cited accounts. CBS reports, attributing the account to Greek authorities, that she said she jumped because she wanted to disembark. That reported explanation is not a final investigative finding or proof of motive, and the cited sources do not establish her subsequent medical condition.