2 Holland America crew members die during an “accident” on a cruise ship

Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “accident” in the ship's engineering space, the cruise line said.

Holland America said in a statement that the unidentified crew members died on Friday while the Florida-based New Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.

The cruise line said authorities have been notified and the cause of the accident is being investigated.

“The safety, security and well-being of all guests and crew members is the company’s absolute priority,” the cruise line said. The company also noted that reports that crew members died in a fire on board the ship are not accurate.

The cruise line did not provide any other details about the crew members, nor did the agency conducting the investigation. The ship sailed from Fort Lauderdale on March 16 on a seven-night voyage.

Crew members were counseled.

“All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this incident, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of our team members at this difficult time,” the statement read.

Crew deaths are relatively rare. Researchers at Bowling Green State University is found Between 2000 and 2019, 623 deaths were reported on cruise ships, and 89% of those deaths were passengers while 11% of those were crew members.

During the pandemic, four crew members were killed for reasons unrelated to the coronavirus Cruise ships with stranded workers on board.