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One two-month voyage around Australia has been cancelled in the wake of the death of an older lady who was left behind by the cruise liner on a distant island.

Suzanne Rees had been trekking on Lizard Island with other travelers from the cruise ship, but separated from the group for a rest. The liner sailed away leaving her and went back after some time after the crew became aware the lady was unaccounted for.

A major search operation found her remains the subsequent day.

Officials are looking into the incident, in coordination with police and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the shipping company announced that passengers and personnel on the vessel were told that the continuation of the voyage had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and earlier mechanical issues".

In a statement, he further stated that travelers would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to organize the return journeys of the travelers via private aircraft".

Authorities also published an updated announcement, and said they had "provided a directive to the Commander" prohibiting any new passengers from entering the ship.

The official said that they would inspect the ship in Cairns upon its arrival.

Chronology of Incidents

The ship initially left the Australian port on October 24th, and was only 48 hours into the expedition at the moment of the 80-year-old's death. The tropical location was the initial destination on the journey.

Travelers on board - who generally pay substantial amounts of money to take part in the cruise - were transported there for a shore visit with the choice of trekking or underwater exploration.

Family Reaction

The child of the victim said that her family was "surprised and saddened that the ship left the island after an planned outing without my parent".

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

"From the little details we have been informed, it appears that there was a lapse of attention and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She added that she hoped the inquiry would be able to determine what "the operator should have done that might have preserved Her existence".

"According to reports from the authorities that it was a extremely warm period, and mum became unwell on the mountain ascent," she revealed.

"They requested her to head down, without accompaniment. Then the ship departed, apparently without doing a passenger count.

"At some stage in that sequence, or not long after, mother died, alone."

Company Reaction

Via official communication, the Head verified that the company was "cooperating fully with officials to assist their examination".

He mentioned that the firm was "deeply sorry that this has occurred" and had extended its total backing to the family.

Cruise Industry Standards

The ship caters for up to a hundred twenty travelers with forty-six crew, according to corporate information. It was specifically designed to access distant locations of the Australian shoreline and is outfitted with "tenders" - minor craft used to transport passengers on shore trips.

Events such as this are infrequent, and cruise ships have procedures to track which passengers are boarding or disembarking, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship simply isn't an option," a specialist remarked.

Cruise lines consider these processes with great importance and have "advanced technology in place to avoid such occurrences from occurring," the authority further stated.

"This seems to be probably a stunning - and unfortunate - one-off."