by Inside Edition, November 11, 2015
The husband of the cruise ship passenger who plunged to his death yelled at ship staff moments later: “You killed him!’”
The harrowing scene appears in new video released on Wednesday by lawyers for Bernardo Elbaz’s family. The lawyers claim the 35-year-old jumped from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship on Friday after crew members made anti-gay comments towards him and his husband, Erik.
The new footage was taken by a camera Elbaz placed on a table in the cabin moments before the tragedy, the lawyers say.
Read: Passenger Who Plunged From Cruise Ship Was Victim of Anti-Gay Remarks, Attorney Says
He was recorded saying “because of this, I am throwing myself,” the lawyers claim. The video does not show him saying this; the lawyers say the section of video was blacked out because of the family’s wishes.
Erik can be heard pleading with two crew members as his husband clings on to the side of the boat.
“Hold on to him!” he shouts. “Oh my god! Hold on to him!”
Suddenly, a huge cry can be heard off-camera as Elbaz plunges into the water. The moment is not shown in the video.
“You killed him!” his husband screams at the cruise ship staff. “He didn’t fall. You pushed him! You killed him! He didn’t jump. He didn’t jump! You had him. Why? Why?”
The two cruise ship staffers use their radios to declare “man overboard.”
But Elbaz continues: “You had him, why did you let him go! Why! You were holding onto him, why did you let him go? Why?!”
Elbaz’s body has not been found. The Florida-bound Oasis of the Seas was 17 miles from Turks and Caicos at the time of the incident.
Royal Caribbean have said staff had responded to a domestic dispute.
“This was not a domestic dispute,” Elbaz’s attorney Michael A. Winkleman told INSIDE EDITION. “This was an altercation directly implicating Royal Caribbean security that was all based on repeated anti-gay remarks that were made to this couple.”
Another video previously released by the lawyers had shown Elbaz inside the room moments before he jumped. He tells the staff in the video: “I have a husband. I’m not a pedophile!”
But Royal Caribbean has denied the assertions made by the lawyers and claim Elbaz jumped from the boat.
Read: Harrowing Footage Shows Passenger Clinging to Cruise Ship Before Plunging into Ocean
“The Broward Sherriff’s Office determined that this case was a suicide following a domestic disturbance,” they said in a statement to INSIDE EDITION on Wednesday.
“Our security officers and crew acted in a professional and respectful manner throughout this incident – as they did during the entire journey of these guests.
“The attorney’s disproven claims that our security staff had any culpability in this tragedy are shameful and offensive, particularly when our crew members put their own lives at risk trying to save the guest after he jumped from his balcony.
“We stand by the professionalism of all the men and women of our crew, and thank them for their heroic efforts.”
via Inside Edition
