Weather forced the Coast Guard to cancel their search for a woman who fell from a cruise ship on Sunday. The cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, was approximately 45 miles off the coast of Atlantic City when the 46-year-old woman went overboard. The cruise ship left a Manhattan pier earlier in the day and was headed to Bermuda.

A statement from Norwegian Cruise Line said they immediately began a search and rescue operation before notifying the Coast Guard at approximately 8:20 pm. A helicopter was dispatched at 9:00 and arrived on the scene about 40 minutes later. They conducted search and rescue flight patterns until 10:53. Another helicopter from a station in Cape Cod arrived just after midnight Monday, and searched until 3:00 am when they were forced to return to base due to foul weather.

The Norwegian Dawn was cleared to continue its scheduled trip to Bermuda. This accident comes just over five years after the deadliest cruise ship industry accident in which another Norwegian Cruise Line, the SS Norway's boiler exploded killing eight crew members and injuring another ten. Norwegian Cruise Line agreed to plead guilty to criminal negligence in that case.

Though it is rare when people plunge into the water from cruise ships, the surrounding mystery of how someone could fall 50 to 60 feet from the cruise ship often remains just that – a mystery. The reason is that though passengers and crew members fall off vessels, the shipping companies do not reveal this information. And because many cruise ships are flying under a foreign flag, obtaining information can be even more difficult. This is why it is in your best interest to seek a lawyer as soon as possible.

If your loved one has fallen overboard from a cruise ship, please contact the Accident Lawyers Network to find an injury lawyer with experience in maritime law in your area.