DATE: December 31, 2009 17:54:03 EST

US COAST GUARD
News Release

Date:
Dec. 31, 2009

Contact:
Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Ameen
305-415-6683
Coast Guard searching for missing cruise ship passenger near Bahamas

MIAMI -- The Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship passenger who reportedly went overboard early Thursday.

The Coast Guard received a report Thursday around 2 p.m. from crewmembers aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas stating one of their passengers, 23-year-old Neha Chhikara, was missing.

After reviewing security camera footage, the Monarch of the Seas crew reportedly discovered that Chhikara went overboard from the 12th deck at 4:11 a.m. She was reportedly wearing a black tank top with a white skirt.

The Monarch of the Seas was headed to Little Stirrup Cay near the Berry Islands, Bahamas, from Nassau, Bahamas. The cruise ship is homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla.

The Coast Guard has launched a search for Chhikara using:
  • An HU-25 Falcon jet crew from Air Station Miami
  • An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island, Bahamas
  • The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Cormorant, homeported in Fort Pierce, Fla.

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