A woman who went overboard during a cruise had climbed onto the deck railing and fallen backwards into the ocean, Carnival Cruise Line has said.
Samantha Broberg, 33 of Texas, was reported missing on Friday from the ship Carnival Liberty and the incident was recorded on CCTV.
"Based on the video analysis, we can confirm that it appears she climbed up and sat on a deck railing and subsequently fell backwards," Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz said.
The footage shows Broberg fell from the 10th deck in the earlier hours of Friday but the Coast Guard was not informed until 5pm on Friday.
It happened as the ship was about 200 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico.
The search has been suspended.
In a statement Carnival said: "Authorities were notified including the US Coast Guard, which has been conducting search and rescue efforts in the area the ship was located when the individual was last seen.
"Carnival’s Care Team is providing support to the guest’s traveling companions and family. We are keeping our guest and her loved ones in our thoughts during this difficult time."
