The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it was searching for a cruise ship passenger from Australia in waters south of Hawaii.
The ship Quantum of the Seas notified the Coast Guard of a man overboard at 11:03 p.m. Tuesday, about 870 miles south of the island chain. NBC affiliate KHNL reports the ship's crew remained on scene to search for the man for approximately two hours.
A C-130 air crew took off at 7 a.m. the next morning and arrived two hours later at the scene about 500 miles south of the Big Island town of Kailua-Kona. After six hours on site, the air crew returned to Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu to refuel. Coast Guard crews will resume searching Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard said the cruise ship left Brisbane, Australia, about two weeks ago and was on its way to Hawaii after a stop in Tahiti. It is expected to dock in Honolulu on Friday.
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Information on the missing individual was not immediately available.
Quantum of the Seas is operated by Royal Caribbean International. The company didn't immediately respond to an email message.
