🔗 Share this article Ship Halted In the Wake of Death of Elderly Lady Left Behind on Island The Remote Island is about 250km above Cairns One two-month cruise circling the Australian Coast was terminated following the fatal incident of an older female passenger who was stranded by the ship on a distant island. Suzanne Rees had been hiking on the remote island with other travelers from the Coral Adventurer, but broke off from the excursion for a rest. The ship left without her and went back several hours later after the personnel discovered the lady was unaccounted for. A major search operation found her remains the subsequent day. Authorities are looking into the tragedy, in coordination with law enforcement and the official investigator. Head of the shipping company stated that guests and crew on the ship were notified that the continuation of the cruise had been called off due to the "tragic passing and earlier engine troubles". In a statement, he further stated that travelers would be issued a full refund, and said the operator was working "to arrange the travel back of the travelers via specially arranged planes". Officials also issued an latest communication, and said they had "issued a notice to the Master" banning any new passengers from getting on the ship. The spokesperson said that they would visit the liner in Cairns upon its coming back. Sequence of Incidents The ship initially left the coastal city on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the expedition at the time of the 80-year-old's passing. The remote island was the first stop on the journey. Travelers on the ship - who generally pay substantial amounts of money to join the expedition - were taken there for a daily excursion with the option of walking or snorkelling. Family Reaction The child of the deceased woman said that her family was "surprised and grieved that the vessel left Lizard Island after an organised outing without my parent". In her statement, she described her parent as an "energetic octogenarian" who was a member of a bushwalking organization. "According to scant details we have been provided, it looks that there was a failure of care and ordinary reasoning," she said. She added that she wished the investigation would be able to identify what "the company should have undertaken that might have protected Mum's being". "Based on information from the authorities that it was a very hot day, and she took sick on the hill climb," she explained. "They requested her to return, unescorted. Then the ship sailed away, apparently without conducting a passenger count. "At some stage in that chain of events, or not long after, mum succumbed, by herself." Company Reaction In a statement, the Head verified that the organization was "cooperating fully with authorities to assist their inquiry". He stated that the organization was "very regretful that this has happened" and had offered its total backing to the loved ones. Shipping Sector Procedures The liner serves up to 120 travelers with forty-six personnel, according to company information. It was specifically designed to reach isolated locations of Australia's coast and is equipped with "small boats" - minor craft used to transport travelers on land visits. Events like this are uncommon, and passenger vessels have protocols to record which passengers are getting on or disembarking, according to travel authorities. "Leaving covertly or [back] aboard simply isn't an choice," one expert stated. Cruise lines take these methods extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to avoid such incidents from happening," the specialist continued. "This is most likely a shocking - and tragic - single occurrence."