UK woman falls from cruise ship, rescued off Croatia’s coast

PULA, Croatia (AP) — A British woman has been rescued after falling from a cruise ship and spending 10 hours in the Adriatic Sea at night, Croatia’s coast guard reported.

The unidentified woman was taken to a hospital in the town of Pula and is out of danger.

The woman fell from the Norwegian Star cruise ship, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) off Croatia’s coast shortly before midnight Saturday.

A Croatian rescue ship was scrambled and found her swimming Sunday morning not far from where she was believed to have fallen.

“I fell off the back of the Norwegian Star and I was in the water for 10 hours, so these wonderful guys rescued me,” she told Croatia’s state HRT television as the rescue ship arrived at a dock, without explaining how she fell overboard.

The ship’s captain, Lovro Oreskovic, said she was exhausted.

“We were extremely happy for saving a human life,” he said.

The circumstances of the incident were being investigated and the British Embassy in Croatia was informed.