Woman left behind by cruise ship on Australian island found dead
Australian authorities launched an investigation after an 80-year-old woman was found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island by a cruise ship.
The woman was hiking on Lizard Island, 250 km (155 miles) north of Cairns, with other passengers on the Coral Adventurer cruise ship on Saturday but is believed to have left the group to rest.
The ship left the island around sunset but returned a few hours after the crew realized the woman was missing. A massive search operation found the woman’s body on Sunday morning.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said its investigation was ongoing and it would meet the ship’s crew when it docks in Darwin later this week.
An AMSA spokesman said the missing woman was first alerted by the ship’s captain at around 21:00 local time on Saturday (05:00 GMT on Friday).
The authority said it would work with other relevant agencies to investigate the incident and took the safety of passengers and crew on commercial ships seriously.
Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifield said staff had contacted the woman’s family and offered support over the “tragic death”.
“While investigations into the incident are ongoing, we are deeply saddened that this has occurred and offer our full support to the woman’s family,” Fifield said. he said.
The elderly Australian woman is understood to have joined a group hike to the island’s highest peak, Cook’s Look, before deciding to rest, according to the Courier Mail.
Traci Ayris was sailing near the island last weekend and told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that she saw a helicopter using a spotlight to search for a walkway on the island around midnight Saturday.
He said that about seven people went to the island with torches to search, but the search was canceled around 03:00 local time and the helicopter with the body returned on Sunday morning.
“We knew he was dead because they immediately called everyone back without calling,” he told the ABC.
“And no one went to the spot where the helicopter was sitting until the police arrived later that day.”
Ayris said the incident was clearly distressing for the crew and passengers.
“It was so sad that this tragedy happened in this paradise. It should have been a happy time for this lovely lady.”
It is understood the woman was on the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia, and tickets for the voyage cost tens of thousands of dollars.
According to the company’s website, the Coral Adventurer can accommodate up to 120 guests with 46 crew members. It was built to provide access to remote areas of the Australian coast and was equipped with “tenders”, small boats used to pick up passengers on day trips.
Queensland police said a report would be prepared for the coroner into the woman’s “sudden and unsuspicious death”.
