Woman found after falling overboard in SA Cape Jaffa from P&O Pacific Explorer Kangaroo Island trip

The body of a young woman who fell overboard from a massive cruise ship on South Australia's coast has been found. 

Australian Maritime Safety Authority confirmed the body of a 23-year-old woman was found in the waters off Cape Jaffa at about 7am on Wednesday after she fell overboard from the P&O Pacific Explorer cruise ship.

Police said crew members learned the passenger was missing at about 11.30pm and alerted authorities shortly after midnight.

The boat was stopped 70km off the coast of Cape Jaffa and remained there while the search was underway. The woman's body was found 45km from the coast.

'AMSA deployed a Melbourne based Challenger and two rescue helicopters to conduct the search alongside Pacific Explorer throughout the night,' a spokesperson said.

'The body of a woman was found by rescue helicopter this morning at about 7am and was taken to Mt Gambier hospital for identification.

'AMSA expresses condolences to the family of the deceased.'

Carnival Cruises, P&O's operator, also confirmed the young woman's death.

'This tragic discovery comes after an overnight search and rescue operation,' a spokesperson said.

'We continue to provide care and assistance to the family member this guest was travelling with and extend our deepest condolences to their loved ones.

'As you can appreciate this has also deeply impacted our remaining guests and crew. We thank all involved who supported this distressing and challenging search operation.

'Relevant authorities have been advised and we will continue to work with them and provide any assistance required.'

The Pacific Explorer left Melbourne on Tuesday for a four-day return trip from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island. 

A passenger on board the cruise said the ship's activities are continuing normally, despite the woman's death.

'It’s pretty much business as usual, if that makes sense. Most of the talk is about the woman overboard,' she said.

'Restaurants and everything are operating as normal.

'Most of the decks were closed before due to strong winds. It’s been a rough cruise.'

The passenger added the trip had been mostly quiet in the lead up to the woman's fall with the majority of passengers choosing to spend the night in rather than party.

'There have been Elvis shows on at night but I wouldn’t have thought it was a massive party or anything,' she said.

'It’s not a very rowdy cruise, the age demographic is definitely older.'

Passengers were told at about 10am the cruise will not be docking at Kangaroo Island but instead will make a slow return to Melbourne, arriving at its scheduled time on Friday morning.

An announcement said passengers who booked a shore tour on the island will receive credit on their cruise account.

Victoria Police will lead the investigation into the woman's death.