A toddler has fallen to her death after slipping out of her grandfather's arms on a cruise ship which was docked in Puerto Rico. Th...
A toddler has fallen to her death after slipping out of her grandfather's arms on a cruise ship which was docked in Puerto Rico.
The 19-month-old girl from Indiana plunged 150 feet from the Royal Caribbean vessel in San Juan on Sunday afternoon.
Her grandfather is believed to have slipped and fallen while holding the toddler by a window on the 11th deck of the Freedom of the Seas ship.
Horrified passengers said they had heard a 'cry of pain' from the girl's mother.
The toddler is believed to have fallen from a window on the 11th deck - shown above the balconies - on Sunday afternoon
People stand by an open window on the cruise ship which was docked in Puerto RIco
'[We heard] the screams of the families because we were close,' a nearby passenger told Telemundo PR.
'I looked because of the mother's cry. That tonality, a scream of pain of that nature, does not compare with any other scream.'
The girl had a hard landing on the concrete of the Pan American dock in San Juan, and died in hospital shortly afterwards.
The child and her extended family from Indiana were vacationing together aboard the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship, operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line.
Both her sets of grandparents, her parents and her younger brother were on board the ship at the time.
Department of Public Security official Elmer Román said the grandfather was playing a game with the child when she slipped from his arms.
The homicide division was investigating the death, he said.
'It has not been possible to interview the family,' he said, adding that they were being provided with medical and spiritual support.
El Vocero reported the grandfather was holding the child when he slipped and fell into the window, and the child then fell from his arms to her death.
A map showing San Juan in Puerto Rico where the girl fell to her death
Police stand on the deck of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship as they investigate how a 19-month-old girl fell to her death from the vessel
Authorities at the scene last night after the Indiana toddler fell to her death after slipping out of her grandfather's arms
Cruise ship passengers stand on a balcony of the Freedom of the Seas vessel after a 19-month-old girl fell to her death from the 11th deck of the ship on Sunday
Authorities at the scene last night after the girl fell to her death
People claiming to be familiar with the layout of the ship in an online forum said the 11th deck is a pool deck on the cruise ship, which would be the only place on the ship that would have open windows.
The call to authorities came in reporting the child's fatal drop at 4.27pm Atlantic Standard Time, according to Primera Hora.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. told DailyMail.com: 'We are assisting local authorities in San Juan, PR as they make inquiries after an incident aboard Freedom of the Seas earlier today.
'We do not have further information to share at this point.'
Security camera footage from the ship has been requested by Prosecutor Ivette Nieves, who was conducting interviews with the passengers who observed the tragic fall.
Horrified passengers said they had heard a 'cry of pain' from the girl's mother aboard the Freedom of the Seas vessel (pictured)
Department of Public Security Elmer Román (pictured) said the grandfather said he was playing a game with the child when she tragically slipped from his arms
Passengers and crew were ushered to the opposite side of the ship, facing out to the water, while police made enquiries.
The captain of the ship shared his condolences over the speaker on the ship and announced that the departure of the cruise would be delayed.
It eventually departed from the San Juan port at 10.24pm local time, according to MarineTraffic.com.
The child would have turned two in December, according to the family.
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