A passenger is believed to have fallen overboard from an 18-deck cruise ship bound for Southampton.

The incident on the MSC Virtuosa sparked a major search in the middle of the night.

Alarms were raised to passengers on board the ship at 2am on Saturday, with the ship setting off “loud explosions” and the captain announcing there was a “man overboard”, reports The Mirror. The ship slowed and crews launched a major search.

A passenger said searchlights were used to illuminate the sea at 2am in a bid to find the missing man. The research focused on the north of the Casquets rocks, west of Alderney.

A passenger on board the ship said: “Around 2 a.m., the ship emitted loud explosions. I thought the ship was in trouble, then the captain announced “man overboard, man overboard, port”. The ship slowed down and they shined spotlights on the ship. the sea is looking for him.

“At 2:30 p.m. they announced that they had a missing person and that their thoughts and prayers were with the family, that they were slowing the ship and that we would be delayed in arriving at Southampton,” reports The Mirror.

One person took to social media site X, saying search teams “didn’t search very long.”

They wrote: “So sad to see the person overboard on the MSC Virtuosa last night. I didn’t look very long but I guess the schedule is more important. We still left our rooms at 7:30am! I hope they are found.”

The Maltese-flagged ship was built in France in 2020.

It is 332 m (1,089 ft) long and has 18 decks capable of accommodating up to 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew members. Virtuosa was due to arrive in Southampton at 6:15 a.m. and depart at 8 p.m.

The ship also has a 4D cinema, bowling alleys, a casino, a video games room and a Formula 1 simulator.

Passengers can also visit a theater hosting Broadway-style productions, as well as a lounge featuring shows from Carousel Productions at Sea.

Express.co.uk has requested comment from the UK Coastguard and cruise line MSC.

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