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Credit: DisneyEarlier this month, the Walt Disney World Resort was rocked by a fifth death in less than a month. This fifth death was at the Saratoga Springs Resort, and while the death has been widely reported in the media, there still has not been an update on the cause of this latest death.
Now, two weeks after the fifth death at Disney World, Disney is dealing with another death on one of its cruise ships. Last night, the Disney Wonder was sailing from Melbourne, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, when a 73-year-old Australian man jumped overboard at 4:30 a.m. local time.
The Disney Wonder turned around in the Tasman Sea and conducted a search for about five hours before heading back to Melbourne. According to passengers on the ship, they were unable to find the missing man.
“The captain came on and updated the boat and basically stated that there was someone, a passenger had fallen overboard … (but) that they were unable to find them,” passenger Mitch Talbot said. “It was quite sombre and it was just a bit eerie for the rest of the day. A lot of the staff kind of took some time.”
According to the passengers, the crew used thermal imaging devices to attempt to locate the missing man, but they were unable to find him after an extensive search. Police are treating this as a suicide and said that they do not suspect any foul play in the man’s death.
After the incident, the ship continued on its cruise to New Zealand. It will arrive in port on Wednesday, one day late. The Disney Wonder was on a five-day cruise between Australia and New Zealand when this incident occurred.
This five-night cruise was one of Disney Cruise Line’s final trips out of Australia, as the cruise line announced that it was “bidding a fond farewell” to the country after the 2025/26 season.
This is the third suicide on Disney property in the last month and a half, with two of the five deaths at Disney World resulting from suicide. Those two deaths took place at Disney World’s Contemporary Resort.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please dial the 24/7 suicide hotline at 988.