Royal Caribbean cruise ship Freedom of the Seas was docked in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, when the tragic incident took place. Little Chloe, who was on holiday with her family and grandparents has been playing with her grandfather in a dining hall on deck 11. According to Port Authority spokesman José Carmona, grandfather Salvatorre Anello sat the girl in the window where one pane of glass was open. He is said to have lost his balance and dropped the child 150ft to the concrete below. “Sadly, she died on impact,” Carmona said, reported CNN.
A cruise ship passenger told Telemundo: “We heard the family’s screams because we were close by.
“I looked when I heard the mother’s cry. That tonality, a scream of pain of that nature. It does not compare with any other scream.”
The family’ attorney, Michael Winkleman, told NBC News that the toddler’s parents, Alan and Kimberly Wiegand are “devastated” – but they want answers.
Winkleman has claimed that some blame lies with Royal Caribbean for the open window.
“I do think that there is going to be blame and significant blame on the cruise line,” he told NBC News.
“Why in the world would you leave a window open in an entire glass wall full of windows in a kids area?”
“Why would you have that kind of danger without any warning, without any sign, without any notice?”
In a press conference in downtown Miami, Florida yesterday Winkleman said the death was “preventable.”
A police investigation has been launched into the incident. CCTV is being examined and other passengers interviewed.
Elmer Román, of the local Department of Public Security, said yesterday: “Police have now launched an investigation and are trawling CCTV of the ship.
“At this time (the Division of) Homicide is in place. It has not been possible to interview the family. It is a very strong scene, very sad and tragic.
“At one point, one of her grandparents… in an act of games, exposes the girl to the void and falls out of his hands.”
A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told Express.co.uk: “We are assisting local authorities in San Juan, PR, as they make inquiries after an incident aboard Freedom of the Seas on Sunday.
“We do not have further information to share at this point.”
Yesterday they said: “We are deeply saddened by yesterday’s tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family.
“We’ve made our Care Team available to assist the family with any resources they need. Out of respect for their privacy, we do not plan to comment further on the incident.”
In other Royal Caribbean news, Jane McDonald will be chartering Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas in September 2020. The seven-night trip will see cruise holidaymakers head to France, Spain and Portugal.
Cruise ships passengers will enjoy an unprecedented Jane McDonald experience onboard the Royal Caribbean ship.
This includes guaranteed entry to see Jane perform two different exclusive headline shows, a one-of-a-kind ‘Audience-With’ event and a seven-night holiday.