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One 60-day journey through the Australian Coast has been cancelled in the wake of the fatal incident of an elderly woman who was abandoned by the vessel on a isolated island.

The passenger had been hiking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the cruise ship, but broke off from the party for a rest. The ship left without her and went back several hours later after the personnel became aware the passenger was missing.

A major hunt found her body the subsequent day.

Authorities are investigating the incident, in coordination with law enforcement and the medical examiner.

Head of the shipping company announced that travelers and staff on the ship were told that the rest of the voyage had been terminated due to the "sad loss and earlier technical problems".

Through an announcement, he further stated that passengers would be issued a total repayment, and said the company was working "to organize the travel back of the passengers via specially arranged planes".

Authorities also published an updated announcement, and said they had "issued a order to the Master" preventing any new passengers from boarding the liner.

The official said that they would attend the liner in the Australian city upon its coming back.

Timeline of Events

The vessel initially left the coastal city on 24 October, and was merely two days into the expedition at the point of the 80-year-old's death. The tropical location was the opening port on the journey.

Travelers on the vessel - who typically pay large sums of currency to take part in the voyage - were taken there for a day trip with the possibility of hiking or snorkelling.

Relatives Reaction

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

Through her comments, she characterized her mum as an "vigorous 80-year-old" who was a participant of a bushwalking organization.

"Based on limited facts we have been provided, it looks that there was a failure of care and basic judgment," she said.

She added that she hoped the investigation would be able to determine what "the operator should have performed that might have preserved Her life".

"Based on information from the police that it was a exceptionally warm afternoon, and she became unwell on the hill climb," she explained.

"Officials suggested her to go back, alone. Then the boat sailed away, reportedly without performing a roll call.

"During some point in that chain of events, or shortly after, mum died, without company."

Operator Response

Through an announcement, the Chief Executive affirmed that the company was "collaborating extensively with authorities to aid their inquiry".

He mentioned that the firm was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had provided its full support to the loved ones.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The vessel caters for up to one hundred twenty travelers with nearly fifty personnel, according to official data. It was specially constructed to enter isolated areas of Australia's shoreline and is fitted with "tenders" - small boats used to ferry travelers on land visits.

Occurrences of this nature are infrequent, and cruise ships have systems to document which travelers are boarding or leaving, according to maritime specialists.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] aboard just isn't an choice," an authority commented.

Cruise lines take these procedures extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to prevent such incidents from happening," the specialist further stated.

"This is presumably a shocking - and tragic - one-off."