- A 75-year-old American tourist died after a ferry in the Bahamas began to sink
- The two-deck ferry sank off Blue Lagoon Island in the Bahamas on Tuesday
- Video shows the two-deck ferry leaning seriously to the left
An elderly American tourist has died after a ferry carrying cruise ship passengers to the private island of Blue Lagoon in the Bahamas sank.
Terrifying footage shows dozens of frightened passengers wearing thick orange life jackets as the two-deck ferry, which departed Tuesday morning from Paradise Island in Nassau, leans to one side.
The waterline of the sea reaches the first set of windows on the ferry, before the video cuts to a new shot of the ferry leaning at a steep angle to the left.
We then see ferry passengers jumping out of the ferry and swimming to a nearby boat.
Another video shows passengers screaming as abandoned life rings float past the ferry.
Dozens of passengers were seen wearing thick orange life jackets
The crew was reportedly unhelpful and was seen crying and screaming by passengers
Local media reported that a 75-year-old American passenger died during the sinking, although the exact timing and cause of death have not yet been revealed. Local police are reportedly still investigating.
The tour operator told The Maritime Executive that two more passengers were taken to hospital for further treatment.
One tourist, an American woman named Kelly Schissel, claimed that ferry staff did little to calm or assist passengers.
“One of the crew members who was downstairs ran up and cried, screamed and grabbed a life jacket. Then everyone was like, “This is real, something is happening,” Schissel said in a TikTok video.
‘We were kind of waiting for the staff to tell us what to do, which they never did because they were too busy crying and panicking.
Local media reported that a 75-year-old American passenger died during the sinking, although the exact timing and cause of death have not yet been revealed
“One of the crew that was down there ran up and was crying, bawling and grabbing a life jacket,” said Kelly Schissel, who was on the boat.
‘I also heard that the captain was laughing because he was showing off. He tried to turn the ass around, I just don’t think it worked the way he wanted it to.’
Schissel said the crew did nothing as passengers tried to get off the sinking boat.
‘Once it got to the point where one guy jumped in, everyone else was like, “s***, we might as well get in.”
She added that the ferry passengers had to endure “pretty rough waves” as they made their way to the few available lifeboats.
“I got on a fishing boat that was just passing by.”
The ferry’s sinking comes weeks after a 64-year-old man was rescued by the Coast Guard after being stranded on an island in the Bahamas for three days.
The 64-year-old got into trouble 130 miles off the coast of the Bahamas last week when his boat failed to mobilize and he was forced to call for help.
He fired flares from his disabled sailboat off the coast of Cay Sal, an island located between Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas.
MailOnline has contacted Blue Lagoon Island for comment.