German pop star Daniel Kueblboeck is missing after falling or jumping from a cruise ship.
Getty
Daniel Kueblboeck
Daniel Kueblboeck (also known as Daniel Dominik Kaiser-Küblböck) is missing after reportedly falling or jumping from a cruise ship. The German pop star hasn’t been heard from since, and friends and family are worried about his safety. Here is what you need to know about Kueblboeck and what happened.
Getty Küblböck in 2004.
Kueblboeck went overboard while on the cruise ship AIDAluna early Sunday morning, Fox News reported. He was on a holiday cruise when he disappeared, traveling from Hamburg to New York.
After it was reported that he went overboard, the ship stopped and returned to the spot where he was last seen, about 100 nautical miles north of the city of St. John’s, on Newfoundland island.
An intensive search was underway, Aida Cruises said. But after an exhaustive air and sea search with no signs of him by early Monday afternoon, the search was ended. Kueblboeck’s case has now been handed over as a missing persons case.
An exhaustive air and marine search for Daniel Küblböck, a 33 year-old male who had reported to have gone overboard off the cruise ship #AidaLuna, approximately 110 NM north of St. John’s, NL. has concluded. The #SAR case will be handed to the @RCMPNL as a missing person case.
— JTFA| FOIA (@JTFA_FOIA) September 10,2018
The Canadian Armed Forces said in a statement: “Unfortunately, no sign of Mr. Küblböck was found and given the short survivability time due to the temperature of the water at this time of year, the difficult decision was made to end the search.”
The search had covered 1,227 square nautical miles, CBC reported, and lasted for 80 hours. It involved four ships and two aircraft. Holland America’s cruise ship Zuiderdam also helped with the search, until Canadian Coast Guard ships relieved it. The search was ended around 11 a.m. NT on Monday.
Getty Daniel Kueblboeck attends the official opening party of the Axel Hotel on March 17,2009.
Kueblboeck went overboard just off the coast of Newfoundland, authorities said. Spokesman Hansjoerg Kunze said they believe he jumped into the sea on purpose from the ship’s fifth deck, News.com.au reported .
A witness has said they saw someone throw themselves off the ship’s fifth deck around 6 a.m., The Sun reported .
AIDA told The Sun in a statement:
The cruise ship AIDAluna was on the sea route to Newfoundland when a person jumped overboard in the early hours of September 9 2018. The captain and crew of AIDAluna have immediately taken all necessary rescue measures, in close coordination with the local competent authorities. A cabin check was performed, which confirmed that a male guest was missing. The missing person is Daniel Kaiser-Küblböck. The ship was stopped as a precautionary measure and returned to the spot where the incident was accepted. The search continues. AIDA Cruises fully cooperates with the authorities and works hard to find the missing person. As soon as further information is available, we will make it available.
Kueblboeck was a contestant on Germany’s Pop Idol in 2003.
To hot ???? wann kommt der Regen #actor#berlin#germany#europe#schauspieler
A post shared by Daniel Kaiser-Küblböck (@daniel_kaiserkueblboeck) on Jul 28,2018 at 8:45am PDT
Just about a month before he went missing, Kueblboeck had posted on his official fan club’s Facebook page, saying that he had endured intense bullying as a child, The Sun reported. He said the bullying had affected him “deeply in my soul.”
He wrote: “Dear fans. Unfortunately, I still do not feel better mentally and physically. I have yet to cope with this pain of the past months.”
The photo above is his last Instagram post, made on July 28. His last post on his official Facebook page was simply a photo of his shower curtain, posted on July 28.
Getty Daniel Kueblboeck and Otilie Mabuse perform on stage during the 2nd show of the television competition ‘Let’s Dance’ on March 20,2015.
Kueblboeck rose to fame in 2003 when he placed third in Germany’s first season of Pop Idol ( Deutschland sucht den Superstar, technically called “Germany seeks a superstar.”) It’s part of the American Idol franchise, and a spinoff of the British show Pop Idol. The show was a huge hit in its first season, when Kueblboeck placed third.
After placing third, Kueblboeck signed a contract with BMG and had released an album and four singles by 2004. But his releases after appearing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in Germany were less popular. He also appeared in Germany’s Daniel the Wizard film, which bombed in the box office. In 2004, he was voted by Pro7 as the second most annoying person of the year.
But his star was beginning to rise again. In 2015, he was in season 8 of Germany’s Let’s Dance and placed sixth.
#actor #berlin #diner66#germany#theater#love#schauspieler @christinakey_com @route66dinerberlin
A post shared by Daniel Kaiser-Küblböck (@daniel_kaiserkueblboeck) on Apr 15,2018 at 12:00am PDT
Kueblboeck has four siblings. Kueblboeck’s older brother, Michael, died in Berlin from a heroin overdose in January 2013, The Sun reported. Daniel and Michael had not been in contact for many years before Michael died.
His father, Gunter, is hoping that somehow his son is fine.
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