Published: 5:42PM Thursday May 09, 2013 Source: AAP
A major search is underway off the NSW coast for two cruise ship passengers.
The man and woman were seen on their cruise ship shortly before nightfall on the return leg of a 10-day trip around the Pacific islands.
But when the ship docked at Sydney Harbour the next day, they were nowhere to be found.
Police launched a major search of the NSW coast for the 30-year-old man and 27-year-old woman, who were travelling with family and friends, after the cruise ship Carnival Spirit arrived at Sydney Harbour at 11.30am (AEST) on Thursday.
NSW Police Marine Area Commander Mark Hutchings said CCTV images from the ship indicated the pair went overboard from a deck about halfway up the ship's side about 8.50pm on Wednesday.
He said it was too early to say whether they jumped or fell overboard, although it is understood their disappearance is not regarded as suspicious.
"Our investigators will go into great depth to look at exactly what did occur," Detective Superintendent Hutchings told reporters.
"This is a tragic event at the moment, but we're holding out hope we might be able to find these people alive."
He said no one among the 2680 people on the cruise ship was known to have witnessed the incident.
"At the moment our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of these two individuals and we're pulling out all stops to try to locate them," Mr Hutchings said.
Police say the marine search stretches from Sydney Harbour to Newcastle.
Police and Australian Search and Rescue have pinpointed a search area about 60 nautical miles east of Forster on the state's mid-north coast.
Hutchings said the missing pair, both from NSW, would have been in the water for more than 13 hours at the time he addressed the media.
He did not rule out the possibility of a suicide pact.
"I've been a detective all my career. I actually deal with evidence, and I rule nothing out," he said.
Carnival Spirit is operated by Carnival Corp, which has been plagued by a series of high-profile problems in recent years.
The line's Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy last year, killing 32 people.
Also in 2012, the Costa Allegra caught fire and lost power in the Indian Ocean, leaving passengers without working toilets, running water or air conditioning for three days.
In February, passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph spent five days without power in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine-room fire disabled the vessel.
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