The Guardian
A British cruise ship entertainer is missing after going overboard on Christmas Day.
The United States Coast Guard said it was searching for Arron Hough, 20, who had been on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that was was 267 miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, at the time.
Royal Caribbean said a member of the entertainment team onboard Harmony of the Seas en route to Philipsburg, St Maarten, did not report to work as scheduled on Tuesday.
A spokesman said: “We are saddened to report that after a review of the ship’s closed-circuit camera footage, he was observed entering an area on deck five at around 4am and was not seen again. Local authorities were notified and a ship-wide search for the crew member was conducted. Our care team is providing support to the family and friends of our colleague, and our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.”
In July, talent agency Russell Smith Associates tweeted that Hough would be joining the cast of Grease the musical on Harmony of the Seas. The agency said he was a recent graduate of the Urdang Academy, a dance and musical theatre college in London.
On Wednesday night, the college tweeted that its staff and students were praying for Hough and his family.
The Royal Caribbean website says the Harmony of the Seas was awarded the title of largest cruise ship in the world in 2016. The ship cost $1bn (£695m), can carry 6,780 guests and 2,100 crew, and took more than two and a half years to construct.