UPDATE: The two cruise passengers shot in Barbados have left hospital and rejoined Adonia in St Kitts for the voyage back to Britain. The ship returns to Southampton on April 3. One man has been charged with the shooting and a second has been charged with robbery.
Two passengers from a P&O cruise ship are in hospital after being shot during an armed robbery in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Police say a man of 72 was hit in the left pelvis by a single bullet. A woman aged 59, believed to be his wife, was hit in her right side. They were given emergency treatment and are in a stable condition at the island’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Insp David Welch said the robber escaped with the woman’s handbag during the incident, which happened yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.
The couple, understood to be Philip and Ann Prior, from Woodbridge in Suffolk,were travelling on Adonia, the smallest ship in P&O’s fleet, which is on an 85-day world voyage. The ship left Southampton on January 8.
A statement from P&O said: “Two passengers on Adonia have been hospitalised in Bridgetown, Barbados following an incident on shore. Local authorities are investigating. Our shoreside customer care team and ship’s medical team are providing support as necessary.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of an incident involving two British tourists in Bridgetown, Barbados. We are providing consular assistance.”
Barbados is widely considered one of the safest and most British islands in the Caribbean. However, a recent spate of jewelry robberies has been linked to a booming “cash for gold” trade.
Petra Roach, European head of sales and marketing for the Barbados Tourism Authority, said: “We pride ourselves in being one of the safest destinations, this is just an absolutely unusual situation.”
“The Barbadian authorities are working hard to find the perpetrator. The tourist office and the police authorities are with the family and are giving them support – they have not left their side.
“The Barbadian people are horrified, it’s a God-fearing society and we see visitors as our guests. It is a very personal relationship which is why we have such a high rate of repeat visitors. Barbadians are very welcoming people,” she added.
Cruising seems to be getting such a bad deal at the moment. Although sad these cruise passengers have been injured it could have happened to any tourist not just a cruise tourist. Feel lately as a travel agent I am constantly having to justify the cruise industry. Good job I am so passionate about it. Anyway great unbiased article as always and as I won the competition to be the Royal Correspondent I will look forward to meeting you on Monday in Venice.
I have cruised on many many occasions and believe me, some people just have NO common sense. One should exercise caution in whichever country one travels, taking extra care with money and passport security. I once saw an elderly couple in the Dominican Republic stood in a market, trying to fugure out how much money they had, purses and wallets open! Some areas in the Caribbean are still like third world countries and very poor, travellers should be advised of this in the ships daily news letters and at briefings before going ashore.