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A two-month cruise through the Australian Coast has been cancelled following the death of an elderly woman who was left behind by the cruise liner on a isolated tropical isle.

The passenger had been walking on the tropical location with shipmates from the cruise ship, but separated from the excursion for a rest. The ship left without her and came back several hours later after the crew realised the passenger was not present.

A major search operation located her body the following day.

Officials are investigating the event, in coordination with law enforcement and the medical examiner.

Chief Executive of the voyage organizer announced that travelers and staff on the vessel were informed that the remainder of the voyage had been cancelled due to the "tragic passing and previous technical problems".

Via official communication, he further stated that guests would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the operator was working "to arrange the return journeys of the individuals via specially arranged planes".

Authorities also released an revised statement, and said they had "provided a notice to the Master" prohibiting any new passengers from entering the liner.

The spokesperson said that they would inspect the ship in the port city upon its arrival.

Chronology of Occurrences

The liner initially left Cairns on October 24th, and was only 48 hours into the voyage at the moment of the elderly woman's death. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the voyage.

Passengers on the ship - who usually pay large sums of money to participate in the expedition - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the possibility of trekking or snorkeling.

Relatives Response

The child of the victim said that her family was "surprised and saddened that the liner left the island after an organised outing without my parent".

In her statement, she portrayed her mum as an "active 80-year-old" who was a affiliate of a bushwalking club.

"From the little details we have been told, it appears that there was a failure of care and common sense," she said.

She added that she wished the investigation would be able to identify what "the organization should have performed that might have preserved Mother's existence".

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the mountain ascent," she revealed.

"Officials suggested her to go back, without accompaniment. Then the vessel sailed away, apparently without conducting a headcount.

"At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, she died, without company."

Company Reaction

In a statement, the CEO verified that the organization was "working closely with officials to assist their examination".

He said that the firm was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had provided its total backing to the relatives.

Maritime Business Procedures

The liner caters for up to a hundred twenty travelers with 46 crew, according to corporate data. It was specifically designed to access isolated locations of the Australian coast and is equipped with "auxiliary vessels" - small boats used to transport individuals on shore trips.

Events such as this are infrequent, and passenger vessels have systems to record which passengers are boarding or getting off, according to maritime specialists.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] on the ship simply isn't an option," a specialist remarked.

Shipping companies take these methods very seriously and have "clever tech in place to avoid such incidents from taking place," the authority continued.

"This appears to be probably a stunning - and tragic - isolated incident."