The 80-year-old Australian was reportedly left behind on Lizard Island by the Coral Adventurer cruise ship. She was found dead a day later. CORAL EXPEDITIONS via ST/ANN
SYDNEY: An Australian woman was found dead on a remote island on the country’s Great Barrier Reef after she was left behind by a cruise ship.
The 120-passenger Coral Adventurer, owned by Coral Expeditions, left Cairns on the morning of Oct 24.
The body of the 80-year-old woman, Suzanne Rees, was found by rescue workers on Lizard Island in the state of Queensland on Oct 26, reported news agency Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC).
Lizard Island, about 250km north of the closest major city of Cairns, was the first stop of Rees’ 60-day cruise around Australia.
On the morning of Oct 25, Rees joined a group hike to the island’s highest peak, Cook’s Look, which is at least 300m high. She separated from the group as she had to take a break.
The ship left on the afternoon of Oct 25, and the crew realised the woman was missing only about five hours after they left the island, according to media reports.
A spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said it was first alerted to the missing woman by the ship’s captain at about 9pm local time (6pm Singapore time).
Her body was recovered on the morning of Oct 26 after a search was conducted the night before.
‘Sudden and non-suspicious’
Her daughter, Katherine Rees, was quoted by several media outlets, such as ABC, as saying that the police said her mother fell ill while climbing.
She said that her mother was asked to head down, unescorted, and added that the ship then left, apparently without doing a passenger count.
Suzanne Rees was healthy, an active gardener and a member of a bushwalking group, her daughter told reporters.
Amsa said it was investigating the death, and intends to meet the crew when the ship arrives in Darwin in the coming days, ABC reported.
The Queensland police said they were assisting with investigations, and described the death as “sudden and non-suspicious”.
Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield said in a statement on Oct 29 that the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred and is offering its full support to the woman’s family”. - The Straits Times/ANN
