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A 60-day cruise around the Land Down Under has been cancelled following the death of an elderly woman who was stranded by the ship on a distant tropical isle.

Suzanne Rees had been walking on Lizard Island with fellow passengers from the vessel, but parted ways from the party for a break. The ship departed without her and returned later that day after the ship staff discovered the woman was missing.

A major rescue mission discovered her body the following day.

Officials are looking into the incident, together with law enforcement and the medical examiner.

Head of the cruise operator announced that passengers and personnel on the ship were informed that the continuation of the journey had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and previous engine troubles".

Through an announcement, he mentioned that passengers would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the organization was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the travelers via specially arranged planes".

Regulatory bodies also released an latest statement, and said they had "delivered a notice to the Commander" prohibiting any additional guests from entering the ship.

The official said that they would visit the liner in the Australian city upon its return.

Timeline of Events

The liner first departed the Australian port on the 24th of October, and was merely two days into the journey at the moment of the 80-year-old's passing. Lizard Island was the first stop on the journey.

Travelers on board - who generally pay large sums of money to take part in the expedition - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the option of walking or underwater exploration.

Next of Kin Statement

The offspring of the victim said that her loved ones was "stunned and distressed that the ship left Lizard Island after an organised outing without my mother".

Via her announcement, she characterized her mother as an "active 80-year-old" who was a affiliate of a hiking organization.

"From the little information we have been told, it seems that there was a breakdown of care and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She added that she desired the investigation would be able to pinpoint what "the company should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's being".

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a extremely warm period, and mother took sick on the mountain ascent," she stated.

"She was asked her to go back, alone. Then the boat left, seemingly without doing a roll call.

"At a certain moment in that process, or soon after, mum succumbed, alone."

Organization Reaction

In a statement, the Head confirmed that the operator was "cooperating fully with authorities to assist their inquiry".

He said that the organization was "very regretful that this has happened" and had provided its full support to the loved ones.

Maritime Business Standards

The vessel serves up to one hundred twenty travelers with forty-six crew, according to corporate details. It was purpose-built to access isolated regions of the Australian coastline and is equipped with "small boats" - compact vessels used to transport individuals on day excursions.

Events such as this are uncommon, and liners have protocols to record which individuals are getting on or leaving, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship just isn't an possibility," an authority stated.

Vessel operators regard these methods extremely carefully and have "advanced technology in place to prevent such occurrences from taking place," the authority added.

"This appears to be probably a stunning - and unfortunate - one-off."