Edmund David Rucker, a father of four, reportedly died after jumping off a pier and sustaining a blow to the head in Roatan, Honduras.
His body was pulled from the water and medics attempted to resuscitate him without success.
A GoFundMe page set up to support the Rucker family described him as their “hero and patriarch.”
An American father-of-four who was traveling on a cruise ship with his family reportedly died after jumping off a pier during a stop in Honduras.
Edmund David Rucker had been on a week-long Royal Caribbean cruise that left Galveston, Texas, on March 12, reported Cruise Law News, which is run by maritime lawyer Jim Walker.
He died on March 15 after the Allure of the Seas docked at Roatan, an island off the Honduras coast.
In a statement to Newsweek, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: “While ashore in Roatan, Honduras, a guest sailing on board Allure of the Seas sadly passed away. Royal Caribbean International is providing support and assistance to the guest’s loved ones at this time.”
According to local newspaper El Heraldo, 52-year-old Rucker sustained a blow to his head after jumping from a “high pier” and and “was left unconscious once his body fell into the sea.”
His family alerted authorities after noticing he had not come to the surface after several minutes.
Rucker was pulled from the water and medics worked to resuscitate him without success, the local newspaper reported. His body remained on the beach for at least four hours because employees of the Public Prosecutor’s Office were on strike, the newspaper reported.
A guest on the Allure of the Seas told Cruise Law News that Rucker’s body was brought aboard the ship shortly before it left Roatan.
A federal law known as the Death On the High Seas Act governs deaths in international waters, but limits damages to the pecuniary (financial) losses suffered by qualifying family members of the victim, Cruise Law News noted.
Over the weekend, a GoFundMe page was set up to help the Rucker family with funeral and other costs.
The family “are suffering from a sudden and tragic loss of their hero and patriarch,” Jeff Hornback wrote on the page, which has collected more than $20,000 in donations so far.
“Eddie Rucker passed away unexpectedly, leaving his wife and four children behind to deal with the emotional and financial challenges that come with the loss of a loved one.”
Hornback added: “As a community, we can come together to offer our support to help the Rucker family through this difficult time. We are raising funds to help cover the costs of the funeral and other expenses to secure the future success of Eddie’s family that he loved with all his heart.”
Newsweek has contacted Hornback for comment.
Update 3/21/23, 10:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Royal Caribbean.
Cruise Ship Passenger Dies After Jump Into Water Goes Wrong
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