Tragedy aboard a cruise ship as a mother throws herself overboard to her own death

Family and friends are shocked after a woman, who seemed perfectly happy in her life, suddenly decided to take her own life.

47-year-old Natasha Schofield, of Queensland, threw herself off the upper deck of the Pacific Dawn to her own death, according to Daily Telegraph.

The woman had been standing on the deck with her husband while the couple's three children above the age of 12 till 16 were all onboard the cruise that the time.

According to Police authorities, their cameras recorded the 'final few minutes' of Schofield's life when her husband was beside her. From the footages, they seemed a 'loving, happy couple.'

However, on April 12, right after 4 pm, Schofield took two steps back and 'propelled herself overboard.' Her husband tried to grab her by the legs in an attempt to save her but failed.

Later, one of Schofield's closest friends, Damon Smith, took to Facebook to pay her a tribute.

He wrote in his post that his friend of 20 years would never 'intentionally' hurt her husband or children. He also insisted that what happened on the boat was uncharacteristic of Schofield.

'... she must have arrived in a very dark and desperate place in her mind very very quickly,' Smith further wrote on Facebook.

The report also suggested that Schofield's behavior had turned strange only in the last 24 hours of her life. Her husband had noticed a change in her for over a day. But when he confronted her about it, she had simply replied back that she was okay.

The online source wrote that Schofield's body has not still be found. She jumped into the sea from an upper deck level of the P&O owned Pacific Dawn, which was about 300 kilometers off New Caledonia.

Meanwhile, the incident has sparked a heated debate on the internet yet again, where people are arguing about the safety issues in cruise ships. This has also begun a conversation about what can be done to stop more of such deaths.