Broken winch may have led to 5 cruise ship crew member deaths in 60 foot fall

In Sunday’s tragic accident aboard the Thomson Majesty cruise ship, a broken or malfunctioning winch may have been the cause of 5 crew member deaths – deaths sustained when a lifeboat in which they were in during a safety drill fell 60 or more feet into the water, overturned and trapped the injured crew members.

In a report from the BBC, “five crew members have died after a lifeboat they were in fell from a cruise ship docked in the port of Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands. The accident happened on the Majesty, operated by UK-based Thomson Cruises, during a routine safety drill.

Those killed include three Indonesians, a Filipino and a Ghanaian. Three people were also hurt as the boat reportedly fell more than 20m into the sea.”

A faulty winch, improperly maintained equipment, improper safety training, or other factors may have caused the accident to occur. Generally, there are reasons that influence accidents or the causes of the accidents. Only time and an investigation will provide the reasons for this unfortunate accident.

For more information on cruise ship accidents and wrongful death claims, please contact Waks and Barnett at 800-905-2891.