The Independent reports that a 57-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an altercation on a cruise ship in which another man, 60, died.

Police rushed to the Southampton Docks on Monday morning to arrest the Exeter resident, after the cruise ship returned to shore.

The 60-year-old man died on the MSC Virtuosa after an altercation on Saturday evening shortly after the ship left Southampton, police said. The ship returned to the city on Monday after the death on British waters, before police arrested the suspect.

“There was a lot of drinks flowing,” Celia Kelly, who told The Independent she was on board the cruise with family to celebrate her grandma’s 80th birthday.

“It seemed most people had the drinks package where you could basically just keep drinking, it wasn’t quite as calm or refined as a normal cruise,” she added.

When the cruise arrived at Zeebruge, in Belgium, passengers saw police and ambulances and began to wonder what was going on – with details of the incident having been kept quiet by cruise staff, Ms Kelly said.

“When we got off at Southampton today, there were a lot of police present again,” Ms Kelly added.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Gillooly, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: “We want to reassure you that this appears to be an isolated incident on-board, and we want to thank the crew for their cooperation and assistance with our enquiries.

Sky News reports that the suspect has since been released on bail while the investigation continues.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.