Indian couple fall off cruise ship

A dream 'Star Cruise' holiday turned into a tragedy for an Indian couple after they accidentally fell from the deck into the sea, off a Malaysian island coast leaving the husband missing.

The 49-year-old Indian national is missing while his wife was rescued. The incident happened 15 nautical miles south of Pulau Kendi in the southwestern tip of Penang island. The missing man was identified as Noojady Shetty while his wife 47-year-old Kasturi Nithyanda Shetty has been admitted to a private hospital. Both of them reportedly fell about 20m into the sea on Monday, local media reports said on Tuesday.

No further details about the couple was available. Star Cruise is a very popular ship among tourists especially from India and the Asean region. Rescue efforts by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Operations Force were still going on.  The state Fire and Rescue Department and Marine Department are also helping in the rescue work, an official said adding that they were trying to determine how the couple fell from the ship, which was from Singapore.