An altercation reportedly occurred on the tourist vessel at around 8.30pm on Saturday, shortly after the 6334-capacity boat left Southampton en route to Bruges, Belgium.
Following the incident, the MSC Virtuosa had to be taken back to port in Southampton, where police took the suspect into custody. Hampshire Police confirmed the victim’s next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
A 57-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder on the MSC Virtuosa (Image: Getty)
What do we know about the suspect?
The suspect is yet to be named as he's not been charged by police. All we know so far is that he is 57 and hails from Exeter.
Were there witnesses?
There are yet to be any eye-witness testimonies given to the press. However, one woman claimed she had been told a passenger attempted to save the 60-year-old man by performing CPR on him.
According to the Daily Echo, Lynda Hardiman-Pearce, who was on board MSC Virtuosa, claimed: “On Saturday night we were in a bar onboard, and I was chatting to someone whilst waiting to be served.
“He told me his son was an army medic and had tried to help by doing CPR on a guy that had collapsed but unfortunately couldn’t revive him. Apparently, the man was on a stag do. The cruise was full of hen and stag parties causing chaos.
“Since getting home we talked to our family, and they all said it didn’t sound like any cruise they had been on.” Her account is yet to be verified.
The MSC Virtuosa has capacity for more than 6000 passengers (Image: Getty)
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What have police said?
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Gillooly, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: “We want to reassure you that this appears to be an isolated incident on-board, and we want to thank the crew for their cooperation and assistance with our enquiries."
Anyone who was on-board with information that could assist, is being urged to call Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary on 101 with reference 44250193676.”
What have the cruise company said?
A spokeswoman for MCS Cruises said: "Following an incident on board our ship, the relevant authorities were contacted, and we are cooperating fully with their investigations.
"We are providing full support to those impacted."
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