Lamb of God "deeply saddened" as search called off for man missing from Headbangers Boat cruise
Lamb of God have spoken of their deep sadness after the search for a man who went overboard during the Headbangers Boat cruise was called off after nine hours.
The 41-year-old, who has not been named, went overboard from the cruise ship on Friday, November 3, near the Bahamas as the four-day event came to an end.
The ship's operators Norwegian Cruise Line and the US Coast Guard launched a search, but that was called off after nine hours and the ship returned to Miami, Florida.
In a statement, Lamb of God say: "We're deeply saddened to have learned that a member of our community was involved in a tragic incident. Sending love and light to their family and loved ones."
Headbangers Boat also featured Mastodon, Testament, Hatebreed and more. It set sail from Miami, Florida, heading to Nassau in the Bahamas.
News of the missing man was confirmed on Friday by Norwegian Cruise Line, who said: "The authorities have been notified and the United States Coast Guard search and rescue operation is underway. The investigation is ongoing, and we will share updates as appropriate. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time."
On Saturday, cruise co-host Riki Rachtman – who was the host of MTV's iconic show Headbangers Ball – told of his devastation at the news.
He said: "I'm just gonna start by talking about this because it's something that weighs heavy on our heart and all the bands and all the people that were on the cruise. Unfortunately, somebody went over. There was a man overboard. And I know what I've heard and I'm not gonna share anything until it already comes out. But somebody went off the ship at about four o'clock in the morning.
"Everybody was devastated when we were woken up by the calls, and then they spent nine hours trying to find this person with the Coast Guard. And I get sentimental when I say this, but at about nine o'clock in the morning, they made the announcement that the search was called off. And when that happened, it was devastating and it hurt everybody when you walked around the ship.
"This metal community, and I don't talk about this 'cause you know I love so many different genres of music, but the metal community, especially the people on this boat, is just that, it's a community, and we lost one of our own. My thoughts and prayers are for the families and friends and it was just so tragic."