10 hours lost at sea: Woman "lucky to be alive" after falling from cruise ship
A British woman has been miraculously rescued after spending 10 hours in the Adriatic Sea at night after she fell from a cruise ship.
Kay Longstaff, 46, fell from a Norwegian Star ship, which was sailing from Port of Vargarola near Pula, Croatia.
She was taken to hospital on Sunday in the town of Pula and is believed to be out of danger.
The woman fell from the ship about 95 kilometres off Croatia’s coast shortly before midnight on Saturday (8am AEST).
A Croatian rescue ship found her swimming in the water on Sunday morning not far from where she was believed to have fallen.
Kay, who fell overboard, being interviewed by local media.
Speaking after the rescue, Kay told reporters she felt "very lucky to be alive".
“I fell off the back of the Norwegian Star and I was in the water for about 10 hours. These wonderful guys rescued me," she said.
A hospital official confirmed: “The British woman brought to the hospital and her life is not endangered.”
Croatian authorities are set to examine CCTV footage from the ship to find out how the woman fell overboard.
David Radas, the spokesman from Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs told The Sun: “It is still not confirmed whether the British woman has fallen off or jumped from the cruising ship.
“Norwegian Star will examine their CCTV cameras.”
A spokesman for the cruise company said: “A report was made that a guest aboard Norwegian Star had gone overboard while the ship was returning to Venice.
“As soon as the report was made the ship began a search and notified the appropriate authorities.
“The ship will be delayed on her return to Venice.”
Ship captain Lovro Oreskovic added: “The British woman was exhausted when we pulled her out of the water.
“We were extremely happy for saving a human life.”