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An extensive 60-day voyage around Australia is being halted in the wake of the death of an senior woman who was left behind by the ship on a isolated tropical isle.

The elderly woman had been hiking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the cruise ship, but separated from the excursion for a break. The ship departed without her and returned later that day after the personnel realised the passenger was missing.

An extensive search operation located her remains the following day.

Authorities are looking into the incident, in coordination with investigators and the state coroner.

Head of the shipping company announced that guests and staff on the Coral Adventurer were told that the rest of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and prior engine troubles".

In a statement, he further stated that passengers would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to organize the travel back of the individuals via private aircraft".

Authorities also released an revised statement, and said they had "issued a directive to the Commander" banning any further travelers from getting on the ship.

The representative said that they would visit the vessel in Cairns upon its arrival.

Sequence of Events

The ship originally sailed from the coastal city on 24 October, and was merely two days into the journey at the time of the elderly woman's passing. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the itinerary.

Guests on the vessel - who usually pay large sums of money to join the expedition - were taken there for a day trip with the choice of walking or snorkelling.

Family Reaction

The child of the victim said that her relatives was "stunned and distressed that the ship left the island after an planned outing without my mother".

Via her announcement, she characterized her parent as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a participant of a bushwalking club.

"According to scant facts we have been provided, it looks that there was a lapse of attention and common sense," she stated.

She further stated that she desired the investigation would be able to pinpoint what "the organization should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's existence".

"Based on information from the investigators that it was a very hot period, and she took sick on the mountain ascent," she revealed.

"She was asked her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the ship departed, reportedly without conducting a headcount.

"During some point in that process, or soon after, mum succumbed, by herself."

Company Reaction

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

He mentioned that the company was "extremely apologetic that this has occurred" and had provided its full support to the relatives.

Maritime Business Standards

The vessel accommodates up to a hundred twenty passengers with forty-six staff, according to company information. It was specially constructed to reach isolated areas of the Australian coast and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - compact vessels used to ferry individuals on shore trips.

Occurrences of this nature are uncommon, and passenger vessels have procedures to record which travelers are getting on or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship simply isn't an choice," one expert stated.

Shipping companies regard these procedures extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to stop such incidents from happening," the specialist further stated.

"This seems to be most likely a surprising - and unfortunate - single occurrence."