The toddler who fell to her death from the 11th floor of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has been identified as 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand of Indiana, US.
Chloe had been travelling with her parents, both sets of grandparents and two siblings on a week-long trip through the Caribbean when she fell from the Freedom of the Seas vessel on Sunday, Associated Press reports.
WATCH the news report about the tragic incident here:
She is said to have slipped from the arms of her maternal grandfather, Salvatore Anello of Valparaiso, Indiana, who was playing with her on the ledge of the open window while the ship was moored in the Pan American dock in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Passengers said they heard a deep cry of pain from the child’s mother, Kimberly Schultz Wiegand.
“We heard the screams of the families because we were close,” a witness told San Juan’s Telemundo PR.
“A scream of pain, of that nature. It does not compare to any other scream.”
The child’s father has been named as South Bend Police Officer Alan Wiegand.
South Bend Police Department offered sincere sympathy to the family in a statement on Monday.
“The South Bend Police Department offers its sincerest condolences to Officer Alan Wiegand and his family during this difficult time, following the tragic loss of their child while in Puerto Rico.
“The department asks the community to pray for the Wiegand family as they grieve and to respect their privacy.”
Freedom of the Seas owner Royal Caribbean also issued a statement after the tragic incident, saying they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
“Our hearts go out to the family,” Owen Torres, Royal Caribbean’s communications manager, said.
“Out of respect for their privacy, we do not plan to comment further on the incident.”
Puerto Rico police are investigating the accident to find out whether the window was always left open or if it had been opened by a passenger.
The entire Wiegand family will remain in Puerto Rico for the investigation.
