A lifeboat plunged 65-feet from a cruise ship docked at a Spanish Canary island port on Sunday killing five people and injuring three in what was suppose to be a routine safety drill, the Associate Press reports.
Around 11:30 a.m., crew members from the Thomson Majesty ship were being hoisted up onto deck after concluding an hour-long safety drill when a cable holding the lifeboat snapped sending eight men into the water. Rescue divers immediately took action and tried to pull the victims from underneath the capsized vessel, reports say.
Four dead bodies were recovered and a fifth man died after attempts to revive him failed. The dead included three Indonesians, a Filipino, and a Ghanian national. The three injured were taken to the La Palma hospital where they are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries, reports say.
The ship was docked at the Santa Cruz port on the Island of La Palma. Aboard were 1,498 passengers and 594 crew members. No passengers were hurt in the accident.
Authorities in La Palma postponed all Carnival celebrations on the island on Sunday because of the tragedy, reports say, the festival is expected to resume today.
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