A young girl has died after slipping from her grandfather's arms on the 11th deck of a cruise ship while it was docked in Puerto Rico, according to reports.

The child, who is believed to have been 18 months old, is understood to have fallen from the Freedom of the Seas ship onto the concrete port below.

Local media have said preliminary reports suggest the child was being carried by her grandfather who slipped and dropped the child overboard.

She was taken to hospital in San Juan following the incident on Sunday afternoon but was pronounced dead shortly after.

A statement from the Department of Public Security of Puerto Rico said: "We regret the sad event that occurred on the Freedom of the Seas cruise and we sympathised with the family of the girl who died."


Investigators and forensics teams are at the scene interviewing passengers who witnessed the fall.

The family of the girl are believed to be from Indiana.

A statement from Royal Caribbean said: "We are deeply saddened by yesterday's tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family.

"We've made our Care Team available to assist the family with any resources they need. Out of respect for their privacy, we do not plan to comment further on the incident."

Freedom of the Seas is the 15th largest passenger ship in the world and accommodates around 5,000 passengers and crew.

Royal Caribbean Cruises has been contacted for comment.