38 cruise passengers were rescued in the Caribbean after a boat capsized during a shore excursion off the coast of Colombia.
All passengers were successfully rescued after their excursion boat capsized on March 21. The boat was on its way back from the Barú Peninsula at the time of the incident.
The Coast Guard said that strong winds and high waves were the reason the boat flipped over.
Since the accident took place near the coast, several boat owners witnessed the incident and immediately came over to help.
All 38 guests (36 Germans and two Austrians) were rescued and have been medically examined. No serious injuries were reported, and all are doing well, considering the circumstances.
The passengers were on the 3rd stop of a 14-night sailing on AIDAbella, a German cruise ship from Carnival Corporation.
A video of the passengers being rescued can be seen in the post below.
¡𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐥! 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐮́ 𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐚 @GaulaPolicia @ArmadaColombia @AlcaldiaCTG @dumek_turbay @baru pic.twitter.com/aZvdVfNTpp
— HT24 (@HT24___) March 20, 2025
It appears that most if not all guests were wearing life jackets at the time of the incident, which was a major contributor in everyone being rescued quickly, even in the harsh conditions.
Local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident to determine what led to the accident.
The AIDAbella’s cruise began in Montego Bay, Jamaica and concludes in Martinique on March 30th. Following this, the ship will embark on a 25-day voyage to the Canary Islands.
According to CruiseMapper, the 2,500-passenger ship is currently visiting St. Maarten.
