Searchers find body of woman who went overboard from cruise ship

The body of a woman who went overboard from P&O cruise ship Aurora has been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean.
The woman was reported missing as the ship was sailing from La Coruna in northern Spain, heading for Barcelona. Under the command of Captain Ian Hutley, the vessel immediately turned around at about 6.00 am on Saturday morning and spent much of the day conducting a meticulous search of the choppy waters off the coast of Portugal, north-west of Lisbon. Cruise ship Thomson Spirit, which was en route to Cadiz, also joined in the search during the afternoon.
Aurora’s track is shown in the illustration above, courtesy of www.marinetraffic.com.
The ship’s crew recovered a body in the early evening. The woman has not yet been named, but she is believed to be a passenger in her 70s who was travelling on the 14-night cruise to the Mediterranean with her daughter. The ship left Southampton on Wednesday.
Passenger Pat Rodgers told the BBC: “The captain made an announcement over the loudspeaker at 8:10 am and asked everyone to help keep a look-out.
“There have been planes and a helicopter circling overhead and the lifeboats are out.”
A P&O spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a female passenger was missing presumed overboard on Aurora as it sailed from La Coruna to Barcelona. The ship turned round to search for her and all relevant authorities were advised.
“A body was recovered by the ship’s crew earlier this evening.
“Our care team is supporting, offering assistance and making arrangements for the family.  Next of kin have been notified.”