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An extensive 60-day cruise through the Australian Coast has been cancelled following the death of an older female passenger who was abandoned by the vessel on a remote tropical isle.

The passenger had been walking on Lizard Island with other travelers from the Coral Adventurer, but separated from the party for a rest. The vessel left without her and came back after some time after the personnel discovered the passenger was unaccounted for.

An extensive rescue mission discovered her body the next day.

Investigative bodies are investigating the tragedy, in coordination with investigators and the medical examiner.

The CEO of the cruise operator stated that guests and staff on the ship were notified that the remainder of the cruise had been terminated due to the "tragic passing and previous technical problems".

Via official communication, he added that passengers would be issued a full refund, and said the company was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the travelers via private aircraft".

Regulatory bodies also released an revised statement, and said they had "issued a directive to the Master" preventing any new passengers from boarding the liner.

The spokesperson said that they would attend the ship in Cairns upon its return.

Sequence of Events

The vessel first departed the Australian port on 24 October, and was only 48 hours into the journey at the time of the elderly woman's death. The remote island was the first stop on the itinerary.

Travelers on the vessel - who usually pay substantial amounts of money to take part in the expedition - were taken there for a daily excursion with the option of hiking or underwater exploration.

Relatives Response

The daughter of the elderly passenger said that her family was "shocked and saddened that the vessel left the island after an organised tour without my parent".

In her statement, she described her mum as an "active elderly person" who was a member of a walking group.

"According to scant facts we have been informed, it appears that there was a failure of responsibility and ordinary reasoning," she stated.

She continued that she desired the inquiry would be able to pinpoint what "the operator should have performed that might have saved Mother's life".

"We understand from the police that it was a exceptionally warm day, and mum became unwell on the uphill trek," she stated.

"Officials suggested her to head down, unescorted. Then the boat departed, seemingly without conducting a passenger count.

"At a certain moment in that chain of events, or not long after, mother succumbed, alone."

Company Response

Via official communication, the Chief Executive verified that the operator was "working closely with authorities to support their investigation".

He stated that the company was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had offered its total backing to the family.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The vessel serves up to one hundred twenty travelers with nearly fifty staff, according to company details. It was specially constructed to access distant regions of the Australian coast and is fitted with "auxiliary vessels" - small boats used to ferry passengers on land visits.

Events such as this are infrequent, and liners have procedures to record which individuals are boarding or getting off, according to travel authorities.

"Sneaking ashore or [back] onboard simply isn't an option," one expert stated.

Vessel operators take these methods extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to stop such occurrences from occurring," the specialist added.

"This is presumably a surprising - and sad - single occurrence."