Woman left behind by cruise ship on Great Barrier Reef island dies
Australian authorities are investigating the death of an 80-year-old woman who was left behind on a Great Barrier Reef island by a cruise ship.
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An Australia cruise was canceled after an 80-year-old passenger was found dead earlier this month, according to multiple news reports.
Coral Expeditions informed guests and crew members on Oct. 29 that the company would scrap the rest of the voyage because of the “tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues,” CEO Mark Fifield told the BBC. He added that guests would receive full refunds and that the company was coordinating their return trips by chartered flight.
Coral Expeditions did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
The Coral Adventurer ship had just begun a two-month circumnavigation of Australia at the time of Rees’ death, according to Seatrade Cruise News.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) told USA TODAY on Nov. 1 that it had “issued a notice to the Master of Coral Adventurer prohibiting the embarkation of any new passengers.” The safety regulator said the ship would return to Cairns, ”where AMSA will attend it on arrival.”
The passenger died on Lizard Island – located on the Great Barrier Reef – on Oct. 26, the Queensland Police Service previously told USA TODAY. “The woman was reported missing to the police after failing to board a vessel in waters off Queensland on Saturday October 25,” authorities said in an emailed statement.
Her death was “sudden and non-suspicious,” but police did not yet have additional specifics to share.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb,” said Rees’ daughter, Katherine Rees, according to The Guardian. “She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
