Cruise passenger, 80, dead after left on Great Barrier Reef island
The woman began to feel ill during a hike and was left behind
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A cruise ship operator is being accused of “failure of care and common sense” after an elderly female passenger was left behind on a Australian island and died.
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The accusation comes from the daughter of 80-year-old Suzanne Rees of New South Wales, the latter who was hiking Saturday on Lizard Island with fellow passengers when she began feeling ill and separated from the group. She didn’t return to the cruise ship, the Coral Adventurer, before it left.
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Suzanne’s daughter Katherine Rees said she was “shocked and saddened” that the cruise ship had left without her mother, reports NBC news.
In a statement Thursday, Katherine said police told the family it was extremely hot that day and her mother began feeling badly during the group hike to the highest peak, Cook’s Look, and was told to return to the ship on her own.
Ship returned to set up a search
“At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone,” Katherine added, describing the incident as a “failure of care and common sense.”
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Katherine described her mother as healthy, active, a keen gardener, and a bushwalker, according to the BBC.
Her absence was reported later that night after “failing to board the vessel,” Queensland Police said in a statement, and the cruise ship returned to the island to set up a large-scale search.
Rees’ body was found Sunday morning by rescuers in a helicopter but no details have been been released about the cause of death.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it is “currently investigating the circumstances surrounding why the passenger may not have been accounted for during boarding.”
The authority says there will be further questioning on the ship once it docks in Darwin, Australia.
60-day journey around Australia
The Coral Adventurer visited Lizard Island, on the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian mainland, on the second day of a 60-day journey around Australia.
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It was marketed by the cruise operator Coral Expeditions as a spot for passengers to swim, snorkel or hike to enjoy panoramic views.
Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield said the company was working with police to investigate the death.
“We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred,” Fifield said in a statement to The Associated Press.
“We continue to provide our full support to the Rees family through this difficult time.”
Queensland Police say the coroner will investigate the incident as a “non-suspicious death.”
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