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A extended cruise circling Australia was terminated in the wake of the fatal incident of an older lady who was left behind by the cruise liner on a isolated coastal location.

Suzanne Rees had been walking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the vessel, but parted ways from the group for a break. The ship departed without her and came back several hours later after the personnel discovered the lady was missing.

A large-scale rescue mission found her remains the following day.

Investigative bodies are examining the event, in coordination with investigators and the official investigator.

Chief Executive of the voyage organizer announced that guests and personnel on the vessel were informed that the continuation of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "tragic passing and earlier engine troubles".

Via official communication, he further stated that travelers would be provided a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the travelers via chartered flights".

Officials also released an revised statement, and said they had "issued a notice to the Captain" preventing any new passengers from entering the liner.

The representative said that they would inspect the vessel in Cairns upon its coming back.

Chronology of Occurrences

The ship originally sailed from Cairns on October 24th, and was just two days into the voyage at the point of the elderly woman's death. Lizard Island was the opening port on the voyage.

Travelers on the vessel - who generally pay large sums of money to take part in the expedition - were taken there for a shore visit with the possibility of hiking or snorkeling.

Relatives Response

The daughter of the victim said that her loved ones was "surprised and grieved that the liner left the location after an planned tour without my mother".

In her statement, she characterized her parent as an "active octogenarian" who was a affiliate of a hiking club.

"From the little details we have been informed, it appears that there was a breakdown of attention and common sense," she said.

She added that she hoped the inquiry would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have saved Mum's life".

"Based on information from the investigators that it was a extremely warm period, and she took sick on the hill climb," she revealed.

"They requested her to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, seemingly without conducting a roll call.

"At some stage in that chain of events, or shortly after, mother passed away, by herself."

Company Position

Through an announcement, the CEO affirmed that the company was "working closely with authorities to aid their inquiry".

He mentioned that the company was "extremely apologetic that this has happened" and had extended its total backing to the family.

Cruise Industry Practices

The ship caters for up to 120 guests with nearly fifty crew, according to company information. It was specifically designed to reach distant areas of the Australian coast and is equipped with "small boats" - minor craft used to ferry travelers on land visits.

Incidents such as this are rare, and passenger vessels have protocols to track which travelers are embarking or getting off, according to maritime specialists.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] on the ship really isn't an possibility," a specialist stated.

Vessel operators regard these procedures very seriously and have "clever tech in place to avoid such incidents from occurring," the expert added.

"This seems to be probably a stunning - and tragic - isolated incident."