An 80-year-old Australian woman has been found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island after being left behind by the cruise ship she was traveling on.
The woman is believed to have been hiking on Lizard Island, 250km (155 miles) north of Cairns, with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer cruise ship on Saturday when she broke away from the group to take a break.
The ship left the island around sunset but returned a few hours later when the crew realized the woman was missing. Her body was discovered following a massive search operation on Sunday morning. No further details have been disclosed.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said it was investigating and would meet with the ship’s crew later this week.
The unnamed woman was reportedly at the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia. Ticket prices for the trip ran into tens of thousands of dollars.
she is She joined a group hike to Cook’s Look, the island’s highest peak, before deciding she needed a break, according to the Courier Mail newspaper.
But she did not return to the ship and the ship left without her.
Accidents like this are rare and cruise ships have systems in place to record which passengers board and disembark, Harriet Mallinson, cruise editor at travel website Sailawaze, told the BBC.
“Sneaking ashore or getting back on board is not an option,” she said.
Cruise companies take these procedures very seriously and have “clever technology in place to prevent incidents like this from happening – they are likely to be shocking and tragic one-offs,” Mr Mallinson added.
Traci Ayris told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that she was sailing near the island last weekend when she saw a helicopter using a spotlight to search the island’s boardwalk around midnight on Saturday.
She said about seven people went to the island with torches to search, but the search was called off when the helicopter returned around 3am (18:00 GMT on Saturday) on Sunday morning, when the body is believed to have been found.
“We knew she was dead because they immediately rang everyone in the search,” she told the ABC.
“And no one went to the spot where the helicopter hovered until the police arrived later that day.”
An Amsa spokeswoman said the captain was first notified about the missing woman around 21:00 on Saturday.
Authorities said they would work with other relevant agencies to investigate the incident and take the safety of passengers and crew aboard commercial vessels seriously.
Mr Ayris also said the incident was clearly distressing for the crew and passengers.
“It was very sad that such a tragedy occurred in this paradise. It must have been a happy time for that lovely woman.”
Queensland Police said a report into the woman’s “sudden and non-suspicious death” would be prepared for the coroner.
Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield said staff were contacting the woman’s family to offer support over the ‘tragic death’.
Mr Fifield said: “While investigations into the incident continue, we are very sorry that this has happened and we are offering our full support to the woman’s family.”
He added: “We are working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support the investigation. We cannot comment further while this process is ongoing.”
According to the company’s website, the Coral Adventurer can accommodate up to 120 guests along with 46 crew members. The ships are purpose-built to access remote areas of the Australian coast and are equipped with “tenders”, small boats used to take passengers on day trips.
The vessel continued its voyage to Darwin.
Additional reporting by Tom McArthur
