Emergency responders on St. Thomas and St. John faced two separate incidents this week, each with fatal results.
On St. John, a cruise ship passenger died Monday at Honeymoon Beach. V.I. National Park Chief Ranger Lloyd Morris said the woman died of what appear to be natural causes during a snorkeling excursion to the beach.
“We suspect a heart attack,” he said.
He did not have the woman’s name. He said she was on the beach excursion by herself while her family remained on the cruise ship docked in St. Thomas.
Police Department spokesman Melody Rames identified the ship as the Carnival Valor.
Morris put her age at 67, while Rames said she was 68.
Bob Malacarne, a St. John Rescue training officer, was called to the scene at 1:40 p.m. He said a crewmember from the excursion boat was doing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation but was unable to revive the woman. Emergency Medical Services was also on the scene.
“She had no vital signs,” Rames said.
Malacarne said the crewmember indicated the woman had been snorkeling but when he next spotted her she was lifeless and floating in the water.
“He dragged her onto the beach and started CPR,” Malacarne said.
According to Morris, crews at the scene had to wait for the medical examiner to arrive before they could transport her to St. Thomas.
On St. Thomas, Emergency Medical Services also responded to a 4:11 p.m. Monday call at Sapphire Village. Rames said a hotel worker spotted a man at the bottom of the resort’s pool. He called for an ambulance and the man was pronounced dead. She had no further information.
