A passenger aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise was detained following a ‘drunken fit of rage’ but has now passed away, according to reports.
Michael Virgil died last Friday (December 13) after allegedly assaulting crew members and threatening other passengers where he was then detained while travelling to Ensenada.
Virgil’s family claimed that security had injected him with some form of sedative, FOX 11 reported. The dad was on the cruise with his 7-year old son and his fiance.
Less than an hour after the cruise ship set sail from Pedro, Virgil, 35, reportedly bbegan threatening to kill other people onboard and assaulted two members of the crew.
He allegedly kicked one Royal Caribbean staffer in the face and punched the other.
A fellow traveller, Christifer Mikhail, told the Los Angeles news station: “The gentleman that was drunk said that he was going to kill us. He started chasing us down the hallway.
“I was kind of scared. I’m stuck in this hallway. He could’ve flicked me and thrown me like 30 feet because the guy he punched kinda flew a couple feet back.”
Mikhail claimed Virgil was running behind a crew member who then jumped into a towel cupboard and locked himself inside. Virgil then allegedly repeatedly attempted to kick the door open while shouting.
After his ongoing outburst, several members of the Royal Caribbean security team managed to detain as he became tired. They used zip ties, handcuffs and some form of spray, a bystander in a video of the incident said.
Within the hour, Virgil then died. His distraught family spoke to FOX 11 saying that the outburst was out of character, with one relative saying “he didn’t deserve to die over it.
The FBI is currently investigating both the altercation and his death, which is pending an autopsy.
In a statement to the new station, Royal Caribbean said: “We are saddened by the passing of one of our guests,
“We offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation.”
