Jacqueline Gast
Date: October 14, 2002
Port Of Call: Hawaii Volcanos National Park
Name: Jacqueline Gast
Age: 45
Hometown: Ft. Myers, Florida
Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Lines
Ship: Norwegian Star
Details:
Jacqueline was found dead about fifty feet from an active volcano lava flow on a lava plain in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lava fields in Hilo after becoming seperated from her tour group. Her body was found close to the end of Chain of Craters Road, where she had been dropped off with other visitors the day before.
She had gone to the area in the morning to view active lava flows but failed to return to a tour van. There was no counting of passengers, and no other passengers missed her on the van.
She was on an excursion with 10 other cruise ship passengers. They returned to the tour van at noon, to reboard the ship.
Apparently, the cruse ship did not have an accounting of the fact that Jacqueline left the boat for the shore excursion, but did not return to the ship before it sailed at 1pm. They did not notify her husband she had not returned to the ship.
John Gast had left the ship before his wife early that morning to take a helicopter tour, without his wife, and returned to the ship just over three hours later but didn't see Jacqueline. She had left the ship shortly after he did Her husband reported her missing five hours after the ship left Hilo's port.
Five hours after the ship left port, her husband reported her missing. A search began, and a call was made to the tour operator. At last a search was made on the volcano lava flow, where Jacqueline was found, dead.
Officials at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park don't suspect foul play.
A lawsuit was filed by her estate, namng the tour company as negligent in her death. The suit names Sung Ki Kwak doing business as Shin Jin Hawaii Travel & Tour and tour van driver Cynthia Hathaway as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges Shn Jin Hawaiii Travel and their driver left the pickup point without accounting for all its passengers and failed to follow up with National Park Service employees even after requesting help in looking for Jacqueline.
The suit also alleges Shin Jin tours failed to adequately train its drivers to deal with foreseeable risks and hazards the lava fields posed to tour groups.
An autopsy showed Jacqueline died of natural causes due to exposure. However it may have been pulmonary edema caused by inhalation of steam. Another report says she collapsed and fell into the lava flow and died of thermal burns from the lava flow.
Jacqueline Gast
Passenger Mysteriously Dies On Volcano Lava Flow
Norwegian Cruise Lines - October 14, 2002
