Aussie cruise ship rocked by tragedy as passenger found dead

An urgent search for a woman who fell overboard from a cruise ship in waters off South Australia has ended in tragedy.

A police search and rescue effort launched early Wednesday morning off the coast of Cape Jaffa, on the state's south east coastline, near the Great Australian Bite.

Authorities were alerted just after midnight after crew on the ship discovered the 23-year-old woman was missing.

The cruise ship operated Carnival Australia has since confirmed the passenger's body has been fished from the water.

"We can confirm the missing guest of Pacific Explorer has been found deceased," a company spokesperson said in a statement shared with Yahoo News Australia.

"This tragic discovery comes after an overnight search and rescue operation.

"We continue to provide care and assistance to the family member this guest was travelling with and extend our deepest condolences to their loved ones.

"As you can appreciate this has also deeply impacted our remaining guests and crew. We thank all involved who supported this distressing and challenging search operation."

The Pacific Explorer ship left Melbourne on Tuesday and was headed for Kangaroo Island – a journey that will now no longer occur.

The woman was travelling with a family member, who is now being cared for by Carnival Australia's onboard team.

The company says the ship went into search mode shortly after midnight when it was revealed the passenger went overboard.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority Response Centre was involved with the search while two helicopters joined at daybreak.

Earlier South Australian police said the Challenger aircraft from Essendon had also joined the search.

Victoria Police will be conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.

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