A 60-day cruise around Australia was canceled following the tragic death of an elderly passenger, Suzanne Rees, who was left behind on Lizard Island after hiking with the Coral Adventurer group. She separated from her group to take a break, and the ship departed without realizing she was missing. A subsequent search operation found her body the next day. The incident is under investigation by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Queensland Police, and the State Coroner.
Mark Fifield, CEO of Coral Expeditions, announced the cancellation of the cruise due to Rees’s death and previous mechanical issues, offering full refunds to passengers and arranging their repatriation. AMSA issued a notice preventing new passengers from boarding the Coral Adventurer. Rees’s daughter expressed shock at the oversight, stating her mother was active and should have had proper assistance during the excursion.
Additionally, cruise industry experts noted that such incidents are rare, highlighting that cruise lines utilize systems to track passenger movements to avoid such situations.
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