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One 60-day voyage around Australia has been cancelled following the fatal incident of an elderly lady who was left behind by the ship on a distant island.

The passenger had been hiking on the remote island with shipmates from the Coral Adventurer, but broke off from the group for a pause. The vessel departed without her and went back several hours later after the ship staff became aware the woman was missing.

A major search operation discovered her person the following day.

Officials are looking into the incident, alongside police and the state coroner.

Head of the voyage organizer announced that passengers and staff on the ship were informed that the rest of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "unfortunate death and earlier mechanical issues".

In a statement, he further stated that guests would be provided a full refund, and said the company was working "to coordinate the homeward trips of the passengers via private aircraft".

Authorities also published an updated announcement, and said they had "provided a notice to the Master" prohibiting any new passengers from getting on the ship.

The spokesperson said that they would inspect the vessel in the Australian city upon its return.

Sequence of Occurrences

The ship first departed Cairns on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the journey at the point of the 80-year-old's passing. The tropical location was the initial destination on the itinerary.

Passengers on the ship - who typically pay tens of thousands of money to join the voyage - were taken there for a daily excursion with the option of walking or snorkelling.

Family Response

The child of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "stunned and grieved that the liner left the island after an scheduled tour without my mum".

Via her announcement, she described her mum as an "active 80-year-old" who was a member of a bushwalking group.

"From the little details we have been provided, it appears that there was a failure of care and common sense," she said.

She added that she hoped the inquiry would be able to determine what "the company should have done that might have protected Mother's existence".

"According to reports from the police that it was a very hot afternoon, and she became unwell on the uphill trek," she explained.

"Officials suggested her to head down, without accompaniment. Then the boat sailed away, reportedly without performing a passenger count.

"During some point in that chain of events, or not long after, mother passed away, without company."

Operator Response

In a statement, the Chief Executive affirmed that the organization was "working closely with investigators to aid their inquiry".

He stated that the firm was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had extended its full support to the loved ones.

Cruise Industry Procedures

The ship caters for up to 120 passengers with 46 staff, according to corporate data. It was specially constructed to access remote areas of the nation's coastline and is equipped with "auxiliary vessels" - small boats used to take individuals on land visits.

Occurrences of this nature are infrequent, and passenger vessels have protocols to record which travelers are getting on or getting off, according to maritime specialists.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship really isn't an choice," one expert commented.

Shipping companies take these procedures very seriously and have "clever tech in place to avoid such occurrences from occurring," the expert added.

"This is probably a surprising - and unfortunate - one-off."