🔗 Share this article

An extensive two-month journey around the Australian Coast is being halted following the death of an elderly female passenger who was left behind by the ship on a isolated island.

The passenger had been trekking on the remote island with other travelers from the cruise ship, but parted ways from the group for a rest. The ship left without her and went back later that day after the ship staff realised the woman was missing.

A large-scale search operation discovered her person the next day.

Officials are investigating the incident, alongside law enforcement and the medical examiner.

Chief Executive of the voyage organizer announced that passengers and personnel on the ship were told that the continuation of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and previous engine troubles".

In a statement, he mentioned that guests would be given a full refund, and said the operator was working "to organize the travel back of the travelers via specially arranged planes".

Officials also issued an updated statement, and said they had "delivered a order to the Master" banning any additional guests from getting on the ship.

The spokesperson said that they would visit the liner in the port city upon its arrival.

Sequence of Occurrences

The vessel first departed Cairns on 24 October, and was merely two days into the voyage at the point of the 80-year-old's death. The tropical location was the opening port on the journey.

Guests on board - who usually pay substantial amounts of dollars to join the voyage - were transported there for a shore visit with the possibility of trekking or underwater exploration.

Family Reaction

The child of the elderly passenger said that her relatives was "surprised and saddened that the liner left Lizard Island after an scheduled tour without my parent".

Through her comments, she portrayed her parent as an "active octogenarian" who was a member of a bushwalking organization.

"According to scant details we have been told, it looks that there was a breakdown of care and common sense," she mentioned.

She further stated that she hoped the investigation would be able to pinpoint what "the company should have done that might have protected Mum's existence".

"Based on information from the investigators that it was a extremely warm day, and mother fell ill on the hill climb," she explained.

"Officials suggested her to go back, alone. Then the boat sailed away, reportedly without doing a roll call.

"During some point in that process, or not long after, mum succumbed, without company."

Organization Position

Via official communication, the CEO confirmed that the organization was "collaborating extensively with authorities to aid their examination".

He mentioned that the organization was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had offered its total backing to the loved ones.

Shipping Sector Practices

The liner caters for up to one hundred twenty passengers with nearly fifty staff, according to company information. It was specifically designed to reach isolated locations of the Australian shoreline and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - minor craft used to transport travelers on day excursions.

Occurrences such as this are infrequent, and cruise ships have protocols to document which travelers are getting on or getting off, according to travel authorities.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship really isn't an possibility," one expert remarked.

Cruise lines regard these methods very seriously and have "advanced technology in place to prevent such occurrences from taking place," the expert further stated.

"This is presumably a stunning - and tragic - isolated incident."