BAHAMAS, The Bahamas — What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation turned into a nightmare as a catamaran right off the Blue Lagoon sank with over 100 people on board on Wednesday.
A 74-year-old woman died in the accident, and two other people had to be taken in for medical treatment.
One Midwest couple, an Iowa native and Wisconsin native, were on the boat when it started to sink — and described the tragedy as chaotic.
"We kind of stayed leaning forward, so I wasn't sure, or we weren't sure, if like he was just waiting his turn or like just waiting for the boat to like settle back down," Kelly Schissel told Local 5. "And then all of a sudden, we still didn't move and then we kind of looked over the edge. And we were like 'Okay, what's going on?' And you could see the front of the boat just starting to be submerged in water."
There were nursing babies on the boat as well as people in wheelchairs, so everyone was searching for the easiest way off sinking ferry.
"It's kind of one of those when you're in the moment situations your instincts just take over — to understand you need a life jacket," Chad Schissel said.
The Schissels described that day as an "everyone fend for themselves" the situation.
"Once one person started jumping in, the rest of us kind of followed suit," Kelly said.
The couple told Local 5 said the ferry's crew gave no direction the entire time the boat was sinking, leaving them to fend for themselves.
"We put our life jackets on, we stood there, we sat there, we waited to get directions on what to do or where to go," Kelly said.
"And again there was none — until a point, we were tipped sideways so far it was either just hang on for dear life or jump in. Whatever protocol they were supposed to have, or should've had, was not followed. And it would've helped a lot."
The Schissels said the tragedy was unimaginable to them.
"Cause you always think, you always hear about it or you see it in movies or whatever, and you're like 'That'll never happen to me,' and when it actually happens, you're like, 'This is actually happening, wow,'" Kelly said.
The Schissels told Local 5 they haven't heard anything from the island, however they did get a refund from the ferry boat trip. Authorities are still looking into the incident.