Chilling final moments of man who fell from Spirit of Tasmania
Harrowing new details have emerged following the death of a man who fell overboard while travelling on the Spirit of Tasmania.
The ferry company, which transports passengers between mainland Australia and Tasmania, was forced to turn one of its ships around after an alarm was sounded for a missing passenger.
The vessel was headed toward Tasmania following its departure from Geelong when the incident occurred.
The body of a 46-year-old man, from Cheltenham, southeast Melbourne, was later found off the coast of Geelong – almost two hours after he had boarded at Geelong dock.
Witnesses reported the man spent his final moments standing on the top deck of the ship “looking on edge and agitated”.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia, a man who wished to remain anonymous said, “My dad said he was looking a bit on edge or agitated … and changing seats constantly,”
He added that passengers who saw the victim’s final moments were in varying states of “shock and disbelief”.
There was confusion on board as some people believed the man was in a stable condition with an ambulance waiting at the dock.
However, a spokesperson from the Spirit of Tasmania told the outlet that those reports were false and that there could not have been any confusion as there was a ship-wide announcement informing travellers that the passenger had died.
The ship did not resume its journey to Devonport, instead, it returned to Geelong.
“The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The incident comes just days after Brisbane man Warwick Tollemache, 35, went overboard on a Royal Caribbean ship bound for Hawaii.
Image credit: Instagram