American Tourist Dies on South American Cruise

The MS Veendam cruise ship, owned by Holland America, has docked in Rio de Janeiro after an American woman dies onboard. On that same ship, 86 passengers fell ill prior to the death with a mystery illness, according to CNN.

Although forensic doctors are holding an investigation into the death, the ship’s doctors are reporting to authorities that the American tourist was an elderly woman and also suffered from diabetes and hypertension. There is still no word on her identity and no confirmation that the death was related to the health scare aboard the ship. The other sick passengers were complaining of diarrhea earlier in the trip and only 2 were reporting real discomfort. During this crisis, a red alert was issued onboard. 

The MS Veendam left New York 36 days ago for a South American tour. The ship was currently sailing from Valparaiso, Chile and had about 1,800 passengers on board, most being foreign.