Girlfriend of man who fell off cruise ship believes search for him was called off too soon

The girlfriend of a man who fell off a cruise ship believes the search operation for him was called off too soon.

Warwick Tollemache, from Brisbane, Australia, fell overboard from the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas ship while it was travelling through the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday evening (26 April).

Following the tragedy which happened around 870 miles south of Hawaii, a major air and sea search began in hope of finding the 35-year-old alive.

But after searching through the whole of Thursday (27 April) and for more than six hours on Friday (28 April), the search was called off, with the US Coast Guard making the 'difficult decision'.

Now, his long-time girlfriend Celina La Roche has paid tribute to Warwick, who she had been dating for six years.

Taking to Facebook, she wrote: "I love you, always have and always will. RIP my love."

Facebook/@celine.laroche.5283

In an interview with The Courier-Mail, she added: "They should have kept looking - I don't understand why they stopped the search. I'm just devastated.

"We were cruising in the South Pacific last month and I was going to move in with him. I was still hoping until I heard they'd stopped the search and now… he could still be alive in the middle of nowhere."

Celina said that she won't be able to find closure until her partner's body is found, but with each passing day, the hopes diminish further.

Unfortunately, the search for Warwick had become 'almost impossible' after large overnight swells made conditions difficult for the search teams involved.

Despite Celina's frustrations at the search being called off, Warwick's family, as well as Australian officials, were involved in the decision.

Facebook/@celine.laroche.5283

In a statement, Warwick's family said: "Our family is heartbroken at the loss of our beloved Warwick.

"He was a kind, beautiful, and gentle soul who was adored by everyone who knew him. He will be deeply missed.

"We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your understanding."

Individual loved ones have also taken to social media to remember Warwick.

His mother, Mandy Tollemache, wrote: "Our family is heartbroken at the loss of our beloved Warwick.

"He was a kind, beautiful, and gentle soul who was adored by everyone who knew him."

Meanwhile, a friend of Warwick's penned: "I will miss you dearly my friend, my brother, my heart is aching so much knowing that I won't get to see you again or give you a hug."