Woman falls overboard from Azamara Quest cruise ship sparking desperate search off Majorca coast

A MASSIVE search and rescue operation is under way for a woman who is believed to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship off the coast of Majorca.

Authorities launched the search after being called to the Azamara Quest at 2am on Sunday morning - just hours after the vessel had left Barcelona.

Two Spanish Coastguard helicopters and a vessel were drafted in to assist the hunt in the Mediterranean Sea.

And despite an extensive search throughout the day, the “middle-aged"; woman, who has yet to be identified, was not found.

A spokesman for Spanish Coastguards earlier said: “Today at 2am, the cruise liner Azamara Quest has informed our centre in Palma about a person who had fallen into the water 75 miles off Majorca.

“All night our helicopters Helimer 206 and 223 have been searching for her in an operation which has also involved the cruise ship and our vessel Concepcion Arenal.”

The ship had reportedly just set off on the first day of an eight-day adults-only cruise around Spain, with a stop in Casablanca in Morocco.

On Sunday evening, the vessel was reported to be off the Spanish port city of Cartagena on its way to Malaga, where it is due to dock early this morning.

The entire Azamara fleet returned to operations for the first time in more than two years at the end of last month when Azamara Journey set sail from Greece.

During the coronavirus pandemic it was sold by Royal Caribbean and bought by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.