Channel Islands Air SearchThe search crew used thermal image cameras to capture the entire rescue operationThe body of a woman who died after falling from a cruise ship was located "very quickly", according to the head of the air search service.
John Fitzgerald, accountable manager at Channel Islands Air Search, said its plane located her within 30 minutes of taking off in the early hours of Saturday.
He told the BBC that tides flowed quickly in the area, west of Alderney, and search efforts typically took several hours or required multiple searches.
However, conditions were good during the search mission and the team used thermal cameras to help locate the body, which was recovered by a French helicopter, he said.
The alarm was raised after the woman in her 20s went overboard north of Les Casquets rocks.
Mr Fitzgerald said the service received a call from French authorities at about 01:20 BST and the service's five-seater plane was airborne "about 30 to 35 minutes later".
The French search and rescue service said the casualty from the MSC Virtuosa was winched from the sea by a helicopter crew and later pronounced dead by doctors.
John Fitzgerald heads up Channel Islands Air Search which is called out when people's lives are in dangerFollow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [email protected].
