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One 60-day cruise through Australia has been cancelled in the wake of the death of an older female passenger who was stranded by the cruise liner on a isolated coastal location.

The elderly woman had been hiking on Lizard Island with shipmates from the vessel, but separated from the group for a pause. The ship departed without her and came back several hours later after the ship staff became aware the woman was unaccounted for.

An extensive search operation located her remains the next day.

Investigative bodies are investigating the event, together with investigators and the medical examiner.

Chief Executive of the voyage organizer stated that passengers and staff on the ship were informed that the continuation of the voyage had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and prior technical problems".

In a statement, he mentioned that guests would be given a full refund, and said the company was working "to organize the homeward trips of the individuals via chartered flights".

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

The representative said that they would visit the vessel in the port city upon its return.

Timeline of Events

The vessel initially left the Australian port on October 24th, and was merely two days into the expedition at the time of the senior passenger's death. Lizard Island was the opening port on the itinerary.

Passengers on board - who generally pay large sums of money to participate in the expedition - were transported there for a daily excursion with the choice of walking or snorkelling.

Family Statement

The offspring of the elderly passenger said that her family was "shocked and distressed that the vessel left the location after an scheduled outing without my parent".

In her statement, she characterized her mum as an "vigorous elderly person" who was a affiliate of a hiking organization.

"Based on limited information we have been provided, it appears that there was a lapse of responsibility and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She further stated that she hoped the examination would be able to identify what "the company should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's existence".

"We understand from the authorities that it was a exceptionally warm day, and she took sick on the uphill trek," she stated.

"She was asked her to head down, without accompaniment. Then the vessel departed, reportedly without conducting a roll call.

"At some stage in that process, or not long after, mum passed away, alone."

Operator Reaction

In a statement, the CEO affirmed that the organization was "cooperating fully with officials to aid their investigation".

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

Shipping Sector Practices

The liner serves up to 120 passengers with nearly fifty crew, according to corporate data. It was purpose-built to enter isolated locations of Australia's coast and is equipped with "tenders" - minor craft used to take passengers on land visits.

Incidents like this are rare, and cruise ships have protocols to track which travelers are boarding or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard simply isn't an possibility," one expert remarked.

Cruise lines consider these processes with great importance and have "sophisticated systems in place to stop such events from occurring," the expert further stated.

"This appears to be most likely a surprising - and unfortunate - one-off."