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A two-month journey around the Land Down Under is being halted in the wake of the tragic passing of an senior woman who was left behind by the cruise liner on a remote coastal location.

The elderly woman had been walking on the remote island with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer, but broke off from the excursion for a pause. The vessel left without her and went back several hours later after the ship staff realised the passenger was unaccounted for.

An extensive hunt located her person the next day.

Authorities are looking into the incident, together with police and the state coroner.

Head of the cruise operator announced that travelers and personnel on the Coral Adventurer were informed that the continuation of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "unfortunate death and earlier engine troubles".

In a statement, he mentioned that passengers would be given a full refund, and said the company was working "to coordinate the homeward trips of the passengers via specially arranged planes".

Regulatory bodies also released an revised communication, and said they had "delivered a order to the Master" preventing any additional guests from boarding the vessel.

The spokesperson said that they would attend the vessel in Cairns upon its coming back.

Chronology of Events

The vessel originally sailed from the coastal city on October 24th, and was just two days into the expedition at the moment of the senior passenger's demise. Lizard Island was the first stop on the voyage.

Passengers on the vessel - who usually pay large sums of dollars to join the expedition - were ferried there for a day trip with the choice of hiking or snorkeling.

Next of Kin Statement

The daughter of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "stunned and grieved that the ship left the location after an organised outing without my parent".

In her statement, she portrayed her mother as an "active octogenarian" who was a member of a bushwalking organization.

"According to scant details we have been provided, it appears that there was a breakdown of responsibility and basic judgment," she mentioned.

She further stated that she hoped the inquiry would be able to identify what "the company should have undertaken that might have saved Mum's life".

"According to reports from the authorities that it was a extremely warm day, and mother fell ill on the mountain ascent," she stated.

"They requested her to go back, alone. Then the vessel left, seemingly without performing a roll call.

"During some point in that chain of events, or soon after, mother died, alone."

Company Position

Through an announcement, the CEO confirmed that the company was "collaborating extensively with officials to support their examination".

He said that the company was "extremely apologetic that this has occurred" and had extended its full support to the family.

Cruise Industry Practices

The ship accommodates up to one hundred twenty guests with 46 crew, according to official details. It was specifically designed to reach isolated areas of the Australian coastline and is fitted with "small boats" - small boats used to take passengers on land visits.

Incidents such as this are uncommon, and passenger vessels have systems to document which travelers are getting on or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] onboard really isn't an choice," a specialist stated.

Cruise lines regard these procedures extremely carefully and have "sophisticated systems in place to avoid such occurrences from occurring," the expert further stated.

"This is presumably a stunning - and unfortunate - one-off."