Horror as boy, 12, plunges to his death from balcony after 'playing with new friends' on luxury cruise ship

A boy has plunged to his death from a balcony in front of horrified passengers on a Caribbean cruise.

The 12-year-old died after falling from the 13th floor into the ‘central plaza’ of the vessel where people were in bars and restaurants.

Thousands were aboard the Harmony of the Seas as it headed towards Galveston, Texas, at the close of a week-long cruise on Saturday.

Witnesses said the boy had been playing with a group of new friends he had met on the ship before falling over the cabin railing.

Ship staff battled to save the boy but he died before the vessel docked in Texas.

Sara Tullas posted on a Facebook page for passengers: “My daughter was friends with him ... She is so upset.”

The boy was reportedly on board with his family, including two sisters, for a birthday celebration.

An investigation has been launched into the incident.

Royal Caribbean confirmed in a statement that a death had occurred on board and that staff were in contact with the family.

Witnesses said the boy had fallen from his family's cabin on Deck 14 to the Central Park atrium on Deck 8 at around 5pm.

Melissa Anderson wrote: “We were a few rooms down and saw undercover cops investigating the room this morning.

“Birthday decorations on the door and inside the room, with a chair pushed against the balcony.”

The French-built ship was the world's largest cruise liner when it was launched in 2016, with rooms for more than 7,000 passengers across its 18 decks.

The advertising for the ship promises focuses on families promising “endless opportunities” for children to “make friends and engage in fun, educational, supervised activities with other cruisers in their age group”.

Passengers said the boy had taken part in the teen club on the cruise and had made many friends.

Shannon Elizabeth from Washington wrote: “My son and him actually got really close on the cruise, and he saw too much of what happened.”

In 2019 a 16-year-old passenger slipped and fell to his death on the boat while trying to climb into the balcony of his eighth-deck cabin after locking himself out.