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12-year-old boy dies in balcony fall on Royal Caribbean cruise ship. What we know
A 12-year-old boy died Saturday after falling from the balcony of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship en route to Galveston, Texas after a week-long cruise.
The tragedy occurred a few years after 16-year-old Laurent Mercer plunged to his death from a balcony onto a pier on the same ship when Harmony of the Seas was still sailing out of Port Canaveral. He was reportedly trying to climb into his room because he forgot his room key. The cruise ship moved to Galveston in 2023.
Last year, a 16-year-old boy fell from the balcony of a different Royal Caribbean ship, the Allure of the Seas, and died at a hospital.
The child who died Sept. 7 has not been identified. People.com reported that he landed in the ship’s “Central Park” area of the ship, where many of the bars, restaurants and shops can be found. The Washington Post reported that the FBI is investigating the death.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of one of our guests,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement to Newsweek. “Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”
In 2022, Harmony of the Seas made national news after it veered into the exclusion zone of a Falcon 9 rocket’s flightpath just before the launch at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, forcing the mission’s fourth scrub in a row.
Man overboard! How easy is it to fall overboard on a cruise ship, and how can you survive?
Second boy to die from balcony fall on Harmony of the Seas
Mercer, 15, from the French island collectivity Wallis and Futuna, had been on a seven-day Caribbean trip with his family on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, when he apparently tried to get into his eighth-floor room from an adjacent balcony, The ship was docked at Labadee, Haiti, where the company owns a private beach.
The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office announced Mercer’s death a few days later after the ship returned to Port Everglades
How easy is it to fall off the balcony of a cruise ship?
It’s not easy at all.
All ships have “safety barriers that are regulated by U.S. Coast Guard standards and prevent a guest from falling off,” according to Carnival spokesperson Matt Lupoli in 2023. Every open deck and balcony is required to have railings “not less than 42 inches from above the cabin deck,” according to the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 (CVSSA), with thick metal or Plexiglas panels underneath to prevent anyone from slipping through.
That’s usually about chest height for the average person.
What is Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas?
Royal Caribbean International crusie ship Harmony of the Seas passes Jetty Park as she leaves Port Canaveral on Sunday afternoon.
The Harmony of the Seas was once the largest cruise ship in the world before it was surpassed by newer ships, and runs regular 6-8 night Western Caribbean cruises to Cozumel, Costa Mata and Roatán out of Galveston. There are water slides, pools, a zip line, 20 different restaurants, Broadway shows and more.
The ship was built in France and launched in May 2016
1,188 feet long, 215.5 feet wide
2,747 staterooms that can hold (at double occupancy) 6,687 guests
2,200 crew
18 total decks
3 water slides, 3 swimming pools
20 dining venues, 1,400-seat theatre
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Death on Royal Caribbean cruise ship: FBI investigating boy’s fall
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