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Topics: Cruise Ship, Australia, Travel
Jess Battison
There has been an update on the cruise which recently had a passenger die after she was left behind on an island.
It was tragically reported earlier this week that Suzanne Rees had died after the Coral Adventurer ship had allegedly abandoned her on Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef on Saturday (25 October).
The 80-year-old’s daughter, Katherine Rees, said the family were ‘shocked and saddened’ by the situation.
Suzanne had been holidaying on the cruise line’s 60-day circumnavigation of Australia, which had only begun on the Friday. Lizard Island was the first stop on the journey, with the passengers taken there for a day trip with options of hiking or snorkelling.
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The woman had joined a group hike to the island’s highest peak but is believed to have broken away to rest.
"We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the hill climb," Katherine told the BBC.
"She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count.
"At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone."
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Several hours after it was realised that Suzanne was missing, the ship returned with a major search operation, finding her body the next day.
An investigation has been launched into the incident and it has now been announced that the rest of the cruise has been cancelled.
Mark Fifield, CEO of Coral Expeditions (the operator of the cruise), said today that the passengers and crew onboard were told on Wednesday that the remainder of the Australian voyage had been cancelled due to the 'tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues'.
With passengers paying tens of thousands for the cruise, the statement added that a full refund would be issued, with the cruise operator working ‘to co-ordinate the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights’.
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The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has also shared an updated statement to say it had ‘issued a notice to the Master of Coral Adventurer’ which prohibited any new passengers from boarding the ship.
With AMSA, Queensland Police and the state coroner investigating the tragic incident, officials are set to attend the boat in Cairns when it returns.
Katherine added: “From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense."
She hopes the coroner’s inquiry would be able to find exactly what the company should have done that might have saved mum's life’.