Cruise tragedy on Great Barrier Reef: Woman in her 80s dies after being left behind on remote island

An 80-year-old woman has been found dead on Lizard Island, part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, after failing to return to her cruise ship during a shore excursion.

According to The Guardian, the woman was on a guided hike from the Coral Adventurer vessel when she became separated from the group and did not re-board. The cruise ship later departed without her.

The passenger's daughter Katherine Rees accused the cruise company Coral Expeditions of a "failure of care and common sense" that left her mother Suzanne Rees to die alone.

Queensland Police said the woman’s body was discovered on Sunday after a search operation was launched the previous evening. Her death is being treated as “sudden and non-suspicious,” as reported by BBC News.

Suzanne Rees, a Sydney resident, was on the second day of a cruise circumnavigating Australia when she disembarked the Coral Adventurer last Saturday at Lizard Island. She planned to hike with other passengers to a mountain lookout, AP reported.

The ship left the resort island around five hours before reporting her missing late on Saturday, officials said. The ship carries up to 120 passengers and 46 crew.

"We are shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my Mum," Katherine Rees, who also lives in Sydney, said in a statement.

"From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense. We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb. 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," the daughter added.

The crew of a search helicopter spotted Suzanne Rees' body the next day about 50 metres off the hiking trail to the lookout, The Australian newspaper reported.

She appeared to have fallen from a cliff or slope, the newspaper said.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has opened an investigation into how the woman’s absence went undetected before the vessel left. “AMSA will be conducting interviews with the crew when the ship arrives in Darwin,” authorities confirmed, according to ABC News.

In a statement cited by The Guardian, Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifield said: “Following the operation, Coral Expeditions was notified by Queensland Police that the woman had been found deceased on Lizard Island. While investigations into the incident are continuing, we are deeply sorry that this has occurred and are offering our full support to the woman’s family.”

Police said a report will be prepared for the coroner. The outcome of the inquiry is expected to focus on safety protocols for passenger management during shore excursions on remote islands.

Australia's safety standards for its Great Barrier Reef tourism industry came under intense scrutiny after American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan were abandoned at sea during a group scuba dive in 1998. The tour boat crew didn't realize they were missing until two days later. The Lonergans' bodies were never found.