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A extended journey around the Australian Coast has been cancelled in the wake of the tragic passing of an older lady who was left behind by the vessel on a isolated coastal location.

Suzanne Rees had been walking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the cruise ship, but broke off from the excursion for a rest. The vessel left without her and returned after some time after the ship staff realised the lady was unaccounted for.

A major hunt located her body the subsequent day.

Authorities are investigating the tragedy, in coordination with police and the state coroner.

Head of the voyage organizer said that guests and staff on the ship were informed that the continuation of the cruise had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and previous mechanical issues".

In a statement, he mentioned that travelers would be provided a full refund, and said the company was working "to arrange the travel back of the travelers via chartered flights".

Officials also released an latest statement, and said they had "issued a directive to the Commander" prohibiting any new passengers from entering the liner.

The representative said that they would attend the ship in Cairns upon its coming back.

Sequence of Events

The ship first departed the Australian port on October 24th, and was just two days into the journey at the point of the elderly woman's demise. Lizard Island was the first stop on the journey.

Travelers on board - who typically pay substantial amounts of money to take part in the expedition - were transported there for a daily excursion with the choice of trekking or snorkelling.

Relatives Reaction

The child of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "stunned and grieved that the liner left the island after an planned tour without my mum".

Via her announcement, she described her mum as an "energetic elderly person" who was a member of a walking club.

"According to scant details we have been informed, it looks that there was a failure of responsibility and ordinary reasoning," she stated.

She continued that she wished the inquiry would be able to determine what "the organization should have performed that might have saved Mum's being".

"Based on information from the police that it was a extremely warm afternoon, and mother took sick on the hill climb," she revealed.

"Officials suggested her to go back, unescorted. Then the boat sailed away, seemingly without performing a headcount.

"During some point in that process, or soon after, mother passed away, without company."

Company Response

In a statement, the Head verified that the operator was "collaborating extensively with investigators to aid their examination".

He mentioned that the organization was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had offered its full support to the family.

Cruise Industry Standards

The liner serves up to a hundred twenty guests with forty-six staff, according to company data. It was purpose-built to enter isolated areas of Australia's coast and is equipped with "tenders" - small boats used to transport travelers on shore trips.

Occurrences like this are uncommon, and liners have procedures to document which individuals are embarking or disembarking, according to travel authorities.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship just isn't an possibility," an authority stated.

Cruise lines consider these procedures very seriously and have "clever tech in place to stop such events from happening," the authority added.

"This appears to be presumably a stunning - and unfortunate - one-off."