Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship’s engineering space, the cruise line said.

The unidentified crew members died Friday while the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America said in a statement.

“All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with our team members’ families at this difficult time,” the statement said. “The safety, security and welfare of all guests and crew are the company’s absolute priority.”

The cruise line did not offer any further details about the crew members. It later said the Bahamas Maritime Authority was leading the investigation. The ship set sail out of Fort Lauderdale on March 16 for a seven-night trip.

A woman who claims that she is a passenger on board the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ship, where two crew members were killed after a steam pipe in the engine room reportedly exploded on Friday, March 22, 2024, told Eyewitness News (EWN) exclusively Friday evening that a “somber mood hangs over the ship in the aftermath of the fatal incident” and alleged that crew members have provided very little updates concerning what happened.

The female informant, who wished to remain anonymous, provided EWN with her account and exclusive video footage, which she said shows the bodies of the deceased being taken off the cruise ship and onto another vessel identified as “Anne Bonny,” Friday evening.

“It’s a very somber feeling throughout the boat. A lot of us feel like they downplayed the whole thing. This morning they acted like it was a small steam leak and no fire, all fire alarms were going off, but they just let us carry on,” she said.

“When we came back from our day at Half Moon Cay they delivered the shocking news.”

She continued, “There have been no updates as to what caused this tragedy, no mention of how old the crew members were, The Holland American cruise Director is Gage Griffin and he was visibly shaken by the whole thing. He could barely speak when he got up on stage to say a few words to the guest. He was crying a lot.”

Holland America Line (HAL) is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, headquartered in Seattle, Washington.