FOLLOWING weather-related problems at the weekend, ferry passengers bound for Jersey faced further delays when their boat turned back towards St Malo after reports of a missing passenger.
Eye-witnesses reported distress among some passengers on the crossing from St Malo to St Helier, with fears that the missing person, believed to be a French girl of school age, may have fallen overboard.
Condor Voyager was approaching the midpoint of its journey on Sunday evening when it stopped, carried out a U-turn and headed back towards the Brittany coast.
Jersey-based teacher Susan Parker, who was returning from a day-trip to France, said: ‘We were told that a girl was missing, but there were no details about her age or how she may have gone missing, so some people were very worried.
‘There was a lady sat in front of us who was crying – I don’t think she knew the person concerned, but she was fearing that the worst had happened.’
Another passenger said there had been a ‘subdued’ atmosphere on board as the ferry retraced its journey at slow speed for about 20 minutes, before a second announcement about the person concerned having been accounted for.
A Condor spokesperson said Voyager’s captain and crew had followed ‘standard operating procedures’ after a passenger had reported a potential missing person, going on to say: ‘After a short period, it was established the person was not on board and the ship continued on to St Helier.’
Condor added: ‘We acted quickly and decisively based on the information available at the time.’
The ferry eventually docked in St Helier just after 8pm, causing delays for those waiting for the return crossing to St Malo. Some passengers had already been delayed as a result of bad weather on Friday and Saturday, with the Condor spokesman describing wind and sea conditions as being ‘outside of safe operating limits’.
