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A extended journey circling the Land Down Under has been cancelled following the death of an elderly female passenger who was left behind by the ship on a distant island.

The passenger had been hiking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the Coral Adventurer, but broke off from the group for a break. The ship sailed away leaving her and went back several hours later after the ship staff became aware the woman was not present.

A large-scale rescue mission located her body the next day.

Officials are investigating the tragedy, in coordination with investigators and the state coroner.

Head of the cruise operator said that guests and personnel on the ship were told that the continuation of the journey had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and previous technical problems".

In a statement, he further stated that passengers would be given a total repayment, and said the organization was working "to arrange the return journeys of the individuals via chartered flights".

Officials also published an updated announcement, and said they had "issued a directive to the Captain" preventing any new passengers from getting on the ship.

The official said that they would visit the liner in the port city upon its arrival.

Chronology of Occurrences

The ship initially left the Australian port on the 24th of October, and was merely two days into the expedition at the point of the 80-year-old's passing. The remote island was the initial destination on the itinerary.

Passengers on the vessel - who usually pay tens of thousands of money to join the expedition - were taken there for a daily excursion with the possibility of hiking or underwater exploration.

Relatives Statement

The offspring of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "surprised and grieved that the liner left the island after an organised excursion without my mum".

Via her announcement, she portrayed her parent as an "energetic elderly person" who was a affiliate of a bushwalking club.

"From the little information we have been told, it seems that there was a lapse of responsibility and basic judgment," she stated.

She further stated that she hoped the investigation would be able to determine what "the operator should have done that might have preserved Mother's existence".

"We understand from the investigators that it was a exceptionally warm period, and mother took sick on the hill climb," she revealed.

"She was asked her to go back, unescorted. Then the vessel sailed away, reportedly without doing a passenger count.

"At a certain moment in that chain of events, or soon after, mum passed away, without company."

Company Reaction

Via official communication, the Head confirmed that the company was "cooperating fully with officials to assist their inquiry".

He said that the company was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had extended its total backing to the loved ones.

Maritime Business Practices

The vessel serves up to 120 passengers with 46 personnel, according to company details. It was purpose-built to reach distant locations of Australia's coast and is fitted with "small boats" - small boats used to take passengers on land visits.

Incidents such as this are rare, and cruise ships have procedures to document which individuals are boarding or getting off, according to travel authorities.

"Sneaking ashore or [back] onboard just isn't an option," a specialist stated.

Cruise lines consider these procedures very seriously and have "sophisticated systems in place to stop such events from occurring," the authority continued.

"This seems to be presumably a surprising - and tragic - one-off."