by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:36 PM ET, Mon July 22, 2019
Police in Bermuda have launched a formal investigation after five tourists were abandoned at sea on their jet skis by their tour guide Saturday afternoon.
According to The Royal Gazette, Dr. Joseph Froncioni was sailing back to port on his boat when five tourists stranded on jet skis flagged him down. The travelers revealed they were on a shore excursion from their cruise and their tour guide took the keys to the crafts before returning to the beach without them.
The tourists are believed to have been American and informed Froncioni the guide became upset about how they were operating the jet skis and left them alone. Froncioni and his crew hooked three lines to the crafts and dragged them toward land.
"I was truly embarrassed that this could happen here in Bermuda," Froncioni told The Royal Gazette. "We apologized to the tourists and wished them all the best. I doubt very much they will ever come back to Bermuda."
The boat was met by a vessel operated from KS Watersports, the company that reportedly ran the tour. The cruise passengers were brought on board and quickly transported to their ship, which was scheduled to depart a short time later.
"Nobody was panicking or anything, they were anxious about missing their cruise ship - that was their major concern," Froncioni said.
Froncioni continued to drag the jet skis back to the Dockyard, where the operators reclaimed their jet skis. The doctor reported the incident to the Maritime Operations Centre at around 2:45 p.m. local time.
While it remains unclear which vessel the passengers arrived on, there were two cruise ships in Bermuda Saturday afternoon; Royal Caribbean International's Anthem of the Seas and Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Sunrise.
"I understand that tourists on jet skis or locals on jet skis misbehave at times ... it must be a frustrating job to be a jet ski guide," Froncioni continued. "However, they have a responsibility and that responsibility, in my view, was breached by leaving five guests, who are non-mariners, out there without supervision and without powered vessels."
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