I am currently on the Encore.
The incident has not been formally announced to passengers here, and to my knowledge neither to the crew (at large). Because of this, it is extremely difficult for anyone to gather factual information unless you were an eyewitness or at least close to the source.
I will only say what I know to be fact and not speculation. I speak based on what I personally witnessed and the eyewitnesses I personally spoke to.
Of course the news agencies don’t have many details—m many passengers and crew members don’t even know that it HAPPENED. (But word is spreading.)
I did not get off the ship at this port. On the second day, while eating lunch, I heard an announcement over the speakers (Code Alpha) and asked my friend what in the world that meant because I hadn’t ever heard an announcement like it.
The gangway was Panama’s (not NCLs).
It was off deck 6, by the Q, such like “shof515” described above.
At least initially, on the morning of the first port day, the NCL staff was concerned enough about the gangway that they were only letting a small number of people go down the gangway at a time. (There was an extremely long line to get off the ship because this was the only exit, and they were restricting the number of people who could be on it at once.)
I have spoken with many people who told me the same thing- which was when they first stepped out, they thought something to the effect of hoping it was safe and could hold them, seeming rickety, kind of nervous about it, etc.
When it first collapsed, early afternoon on the second day, at least some of the people were actually hanging off of it holding on for dear life, until they finally couldn’t hold on any longer and slipped off, crashing onto the pavement below. It sounded horrific, and at least one of the eyewitnesses was hysterical. Later, another eyewitness said that several people had apparent bad injuries but two “were unresponsive.”
I do not know if anyone died. I have not spoken to anyone who knows whether anyone died or not.
After the accident, victims were immediately taken to the onboard medical center and ambulances were brought.
There were also members of the Panama military, Panama police, and officers from the ship.
I did not see nor hear of anyone with only minor injuries. To my knowledge all victims had serious injuries and were hospitalized in Panama. (Again, unknown if any died. The ships do all have morgues.)
As other passengers were returning to the ship from touring, and getting off the shuttle bus, they used NCL gangways to get back on. You can see them in the photo.
I do know of one crew member that stayed behind in Panama with the injured.
I personally saw crew members put lots and lots and lots of luggage onto elevators (I saw two FULL elevators of luggage). About an hour after this, the ship left. This was on time.
There have been no announcements about this incident or anything related to it since it happened, nor changes to the itinerary.
May you all never have to experience a tragedy like this, travel or otherwise 🙏
