Carnival's Star Princess cruise liner steams past fishing boat in obvious distress; two now dead

A Princess Cruises ship ignored a fishing boat in distress, and crew members apparently lied to concerned passengers who implored them to help, by assuring them things were OK and that the ship had "chatted" with the fishing vessel, which didn't have a working radio. The captain claims he was never notified of the problem. Two Panamanians died; one hours after the cruise ship steamed past it. A lone 18-year-old survivor was recovered near the Galapagos Islands, about 600 miles from where his small fishing boat set out.

After Oropeza and Fernando Osario died, Vasquez was eventually picked up by a fishing boat off Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, more than 600 miles from where they had set out.

      Vasquez said he slipped their bodies into the sea after they began to rot in the heat. Before he was rescued, a rainstorm gave him fresh water to drink, helping him survive. Throughout the ordeal, the thought about his eight brothers, and never gave up hope.

Passenger Judy Meredith also sent an email to the US Coast Guard with the ship's coordinates at the time it passed the fishing vessel in the hope that the Coast Guard would notify South American authorities, but nothing came of that, either. The Star Princess is owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp., which also owns Costa Cruises, 32 of whose passengers died off the Italian coast when the Costa Concordia ran aground in January.