🔗 Share this article

One 60-day journey circling Australia is being halted in the wake of the death of an senior woman who was left behind by the vessel on a isolated island.

Suzanne Rees had been walking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer, but separated from the group for a pause. The liner left without her and came back several hours later after the personnel realised the lady was missing.

A large-scale search operation found her remains the following day.

Investigative bodies are examining the incident, together with law enforcement and the medical examiner.

The CEO of the cruise operator announced that passengers and staff on the Coral Adventurer were informed that the continuation of the voyage had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and prior mechanical issues".

In a statement, he mentioned that passengers would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to coordinate the travel back of the passengers via chartered flights".

Officials also issued an latest communication, and said they had "provided a notice to the Commander" prohibiting any additional guests from entering the ship.

The official said that they would attend the liner in Cairns upon its return.

Timeline of Occurrences

The liner first departed the Australian port on October 24th, and was just two days into the voyage at the moment of the senior passenger's death. Lizard Island was the opening port on the journey.

Passengers on board - who usually pay tens of thousands of money to join the expedition - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the possibility of walking or underwater exploration.

Relatives Response

The child of the elderly passenger said that her family was "surprised and distressed that the liner left Lizard Island after an planned outing without my parent".

Via her announcement, she portrayed her parent as an "energetic elderly person" who was a member of a hiking club.

"Based on limited facts we have been informed, it looks that there was a lapse of care and common sense," she said.

She further stated that she hoped the investigation would be able to pinpoint what "the operator should have performed that might have saved Mum's existence".

"Based on information from the police that it was a extremely warm period, and mum fell ill on the mountain ascent," she explained.

"They requested her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the vessel left, reportedly without doing a roll call.

"At some stage in that chain of events, or soon after, mum passed away, alone."

Company Position

Via official communication, the CEO verified that the company was "cooperating fully with authorities to aid their inquiry".

He mentioned that the company was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had extended its full support to the family.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The vessel caters for up to one hundred twenty guests with nearly fifty staff, according to company details. It was purpose-built to enter distant areas of Australia's coast and is equipped with "small boats" - compact vessels used to take travelers on land visits.

Occurrences such as this are infrequent, and liners have procedures to track which passengers are boarding or getting off, according to maritime specialists.

"Sneaking ashore or [back] onboard really isn't an choice," an authority stated.

Shipping companies consider these processes very seriously and have "clever tech in place to prevent such events from occurring," the authority further stated.

"This appears to be presumably a shocking - and sad - isolated incident."