Cruise passenger died a “natural death,” Carnival says

Carnival Cruise Lines said Tuesday that the woman who died aboard one of its ships last month likely died from natural causes. The announcement comes one day after the FBI said it would be investigating the woman’s “suspicious” death.

“While we continue to cooperate with authorities, all indications pertaining to the death of a guest on board Carnival Sunshine suggest that it was a natural death due to a medical condition,” the cruise line said in a statement Tuesday.  

“We will defer to the FBI on any specific details which may possibly be released at a later date as we fully respect the investigative process, but our initial emergency medical response was appropriate and it appears that this was indeed a medical situation that sadly resulted in the death of a guest,” Carnival added.   

Crew members and medical staff on Carnival’s Sunshine ship, which was traveling from Charleston, South Carolina, to Nassau, Bahamas, responded to an unresponsive female passenger on Feb. 27, the FBI said Monday. Medical personnel attempted life-saving measures, but the woman was pronounced dead on the ship, the FBI said. 

Officials have not disclosed the identity of the passenger or an official cause of death. The incident remains under investigation.

The FBI said it investigates “suspicious deaths” of U.S. citizens as well as “certain crimes on the high seas.”