A Royal Caribbean passenger who was caught on camera having a violent meltdown died just hours after being detained by ship security.
Christifer Mikhail was trapped inside a narrow hallway as the unnamed passenger launched into frenzied in Hulk-like state, ripping his shirt off and causing chaotic scenes only an hour after the ship set sail.
Disturbing footage, captured by Mikhail as he stood just feet away, shows the out-of-control male passenger in a fit of rage, kicking at a door and yelling profane language as he removed his clothing.
He allegedly threatened to kill Mikhail, and others who witnessed his disturbed behavior, before chasing them down the ship’s narrow hall.
‘The gentleman that was drunk said that he was gonna kill us, and then he started chasing us down the hallway,’ Mikhail told FOX11.
While trying to flee the escalating incident, Mikhail recalled an employee running into a nearby towel closet to escape the perpetrator.
‘The crew member I was running with was able to lock himself in one of the towel rooms,’ he said.
‘I was kind of scared. I am stuck in this hallway, everybody else was kind of like behind something.’
Moments before Mikhail caught the passenger violently kicking at the door, he claims to have seen the man kick a crew member with his steel-toed boots, and punch another, sending him several feet back.
‘He could have flicked me and thrown me 30 feet. The guy he punched kind of flew a couple feet back,’ Mikhail recalled.
Cruise ship security was able to detain the uncontrollable passenger using pepper spray, zip ties and handcuffs.
The man was reportedly taken to one of the ship’s two jail cells just after being detained.
However, the man seen on video kicking down the door died shortly after he was detained, a relative told FOX11.
He leaves behind a severely autistic child and a fiancé, the relative explained to the outlet.
The 4,000 passenger Navigator of the Seas ship set for Ensenada, Mexico had only left California’s San Pedro port mere hours before the distressing incident.
Mikhail told FOX11 that the December 13 trip was his first ever cruise vacation. The California-native was celebrating his and his wife’s birthday, as well as their anniversary.
No information has been released regarding the passenger or his cause of death.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said in a statement: ‘We are saddened by the passing of one of our guests.
‘We offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation.’