Summit - Docked in Hawaii with 2 passengers who had died & a 3rd in hospital

**Ally** · 10-31-2007, 05:11 PM

The cruise ship Summit docked at Pier 10 at Aloha Tower this morning with two dead passengers, state Department of Transportation officials said.

One of the dead was reported to be 70 years old and the other was 40.

A third passenger has been taken to The Queen's Medical Center in stable condition with an undisclosed medical problem, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Emergency Services Department.

The Bahamian-flagged Summit was scheduled to arrive at Pier 10 at 6:45 a.m. from San Diego.

It was scheduled to depart for Lahaina, Maui at 11 p.m. tonight.

The 965-foot Summit is operated by Miami-based Celebrity Cruises. It was launched in October 2001 and has an occupancy of 2,034, according to the company's web site.

Celebrity Cruises officials did not immediately return phone calls.

In August 2006, the Summit pulled into Seward, Alaska with a dead humpback whale pinned to its bow. Humpbacks are an endangered species.

Federal officials investigating the incident said at the time that it did not appear the ship's operators did anything wrong.

(Honolulu Advertiser)

**alphakitty** · 10-31-2007, 06:38 PM

***UPDATE***

Two Hawaii cruise ship deaths from 'natural causes'

By David Waite
and Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writers
Two people whose bodies were removed from the cruise ship Summit after it docked at Honolulu Harbor this morning appeared to have died from natural causes in unrelated incidents, a spokesman for the cruise operator said.

Michael Sheehan, a spokesman for Celebrity Cruises, said an 83-year-old man, who was a U.S. citizen, had an apparent heart attack and died while the ship was at sea.

In addition, a 40-year-old woman who had "cancer issues" also died at sea while the ship was en route to Hawaii from San Diego, Sheehan said.

Both of the passengers died Sunday.

Two other men aboard the Summit were referred to local medical facilities after it docked at Pier 10 at Aloha Tower , Sheehan said.

One of the men, 69, reported having numbness in his hands and feet, which was acute and progressive. The other man , 76, may have had a mini-stroke.

The two fatalities are not expected to interfere with the ship's schedule, Sheehan said.

The Bahamian-flagged Summit was scheduled to arrive at Pier 10 at 6:45 a.m. from San Diego.

It is expected to depart Honolulu for Lahaina, Maui, tonight, arrive in Kailua-Kona on Sunday and set sail for the return trip to San Diego later in the day, arriving back on the West Coast Nov. 9.

Scott Ishikawa, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, called the deaths "an unfortunate coincidence."

"Trips on cruise ships often appeal to the elderly, which was the case in one of the deaths," Ishikawa said.

"We understand that the second person who died was battling cancer, so it appears both deaths were due to natural causes and there were no suspicious circumstances," he said.

He said the bodies were turned over to the Honolulu Medical Examiner in case autopsies are deemed necessary.

Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said deaths or sickness aboard cruise ships must be reported to the Centers for Disease Control if they involve contagious infections or diseases.

Both of the deaths aboard the Summit appear to have been the result of natural causes so the cruise line would not have been required to contact the CDC, Okubo said.

"We have a medical facility on board that would obviously assist anyone who is in ill health," Celebrity spokesman Sheehan said. "If you have an unfortunate situation where someone passes away, we have a guest care team that specifically assists the families and the people on board who may be traveling with the (deceased) person as well as the family on the shore side."

A death aboard the ship is reported to local authorities at the next port of call, Sheehan said.

The ship has a separate refrigerated facility that can accommodate as many as four bodies if necessary, Sheehan said.

The Summit's inaugural voyage was in October 2001. The 965-foot-long vessel has an occupancy of 2,034.

**Ally** · 10-31-2007, 06:43 PM

How very very sad.

I wonder if the cancer patient was so damn determined to get on the ship come what may that it all proved too much. It is a wonder that she was able to go on the cruise in the first place. Having said that I have lost passengers before in similar circumstances, one lady in particular had kept her medical condition a secret...even from her sister who was travelling with her.

**Ally** · 11-02-2007, 09:13 AM

**Update

Officials yesterday said foul play is not suspected in the deaths of two people aboard the Celebrity Summit cruise liner.

According to Honolulu police, an 83-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman died Sunday about an hour apart after both went to the ship's infirmary complaining of breathing difficulties.

Their bodies were turned over to authorities when the Bahamian-registered ship docked in Honolulu at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The Honolulu medical examiner's office yesterday identified the man as Joseph Gausepohl, of Houston, and the woman as Norell Munday, of Concord, Calif.

Gausepohl was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m. while Munday died at 1:45 p.m.

The Celebrity Summit, which came to Honolulu from San Diego, departed for Los Angeles at 11 p.m. yesterday.

(Honolulu Advertiser)