The woman who plunged into Greek waters while aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise said she leapt off the ship because she “wanted to disembark,” according to reports.
The 44-year-old El Salvadoran passenger went overboard on the Odyssey of the Seas ship early on Oct. 9 — and was spotted conscious in the Ionian Sea near the island of Zakynthos early Saturday, Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, according to USA Today.
She later claimed that she decided to jump off the ship because she “wanted to embark,” according to The New York Times.
The emergency sparked a harrowing 20-hour ordeal until crews aboard the cargo ship MSC Rossella III rescued her from the sea in the early hours of Oct. 10.
Dramatic footage released by the Hellenic C coast guard shows the crew approaching the woman, who was floating in a life preserver — and shining a strobe light on her while they toss a rope off the boat’s bow.
The woman then pulled herself toward the vessel.
She received first aid aboard the cargo ship before being rushed to a local hospital.
The Katakolo Port Authority is still investigating the incident.