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A two-month voyage through the Land Down Under has been cancelled days after the death of an older female passenger who was abandoned by the cruise liner on a distant tropical isle.

The elderly woman had been walking on Lizard Island with other travelers from the vessel, but separated from the group for a rest. The ship departed without her and went back after some time after the ship staff realised the lady was missing.

A large-scale hunt located her body the subsequent day.

Authorities are looking into the tragedy, together with police and the medical examiner.

The CEO of the shipping company announced that travelers and crew on the ship were notified that the continuation of the voyage had been called off due to the "sad loss and earlier mechanical issues".

Through an announcement, he added that guests would be issued a total repayment, and said the organization was working "to coordinate the homeward trips of the passengers via chartered flights".

Regulatory bodies also released an latest announcement, and said they had "issued a notice to the Commander" preventing any additional guests from getting on the vessel.

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

Sequence of Events

The vessel initially left Cairns on 24 October, and was merely two days into the expedition at the moment of the elderly woman's death. The tropical location was the opening port on the voyage.

Travelers on the ship - who generally pay substantial amounts of dollars to take part in the expedition - were ferried there for a shore visit with the option of trekking or snorkelling.

Next of Kin Reaction

The offspring of the victim said that her relatives was "surprised and saddened that the vessel left the island after an scheduled tour without my parent".

In her statement, she described her mum as an "active octogenarian" who was a affiliate of a bushwalking group.

"According to scant facts we have been provided, it appears that there was a lapse of attention and basic judgment," she said.

She added that she wished the inquiry would be able to determine what "the organization should have performed that might have saved Mum's life".

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a very hot afternoon, and mother became unwell on the uphill trek," she revealed.

"She was asked her to head down, alone. Then the ship departed, seemingly without doing a passenger count.

"During some point in that process, or soon after, mother succumbed, by herself."

Operator Position

Via official communication, the Head verified that the company was "cooperating fully with investigators to assist their investigation".

He said that the company was "deeply sorry that this has happened" and had offered its total backing to the relatives.

Shipping Sector Procedures

The ship caters for up to 120 guests with nearly fifty staff, according to official information. It was specially constructed to reach isolated regions of the Australian shoreline and is outfitted with "auxiliary vessels" - minor craft used to take travelers on shore trips.

Incidents of this nature are uncommon, and passenger vessels have procedures to track which individuals are embarking or leaving, according to maritime specialists.

"Leaving covertly or [back] onboard just isn't an choice," one expert commented.

Vessel operators consider these procedures with great importance and have "advanced technology in place to stop such occurrences from taking place," the expert continued.

"This seems to be presumably a stunning - and unfortunate - one-off."