An 80-year-old cruise passenger has been discovered deceased on a Great Barrier Reef Island, one day after being inadvertently left behind by the ship’s crew.
The passenger’s daughter, Katherine Rees, on Thursday accused the cruise line Coral Expeditions of a “failure of care and common sense” that resulted in her mother, Suzanne Rees, dying alone.
Suzanne Rees, a resident of Sydney, was on the second day of a cruise around Australia when she disembarked from the Coral Adventurer last Saturday at Lizard Island. She intended to hike with other passengers to a mountain lookout.
What happened?
The vessel departed from the resort island approximately five hours prior to the report of her disappearance late on Saturday, according to officials.
“We are both shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer departed Lizard Island following an organized excursion without my mother,” stated Katherine Rees, who resides in Sydney.
“From the limited information we have received, it appears there was a lack of care and common sense. We have been informed by the police that it was an extremely hot day, and my mother felt unwell during the hill climb. She was instructed to descend without an escort. Subsequently, the ship departed, seemingly without conducting a passenger count. At some point during that process, or shortly thereafter, my mother passed away, alone,” the daughter remarked.
The crew of a search helicopter discovered Suzanne Rees’ body the following day, approximately 50 meters (55 yards) from the hiking trail leading to the lookout, as reported by The Australian newspaper.
It was indicated by the newspaper that she appeared to have fallen from a cliff or slope.
Katherine Rees expressed her hope that a coroner’s inquiry would “determine what actions the company could have taken that might have preserved my mother’s life.”
What do the inquiries disclose?
Authorities announced that a coroner would look into the “non-suspicious death.” The coroner’s court has also verified that the death is under investigation.
Mark Fifield, the chief executive of Coral Expeditions, stated that his company is fully cooperating with the official inquiries regarding the death. He mentioned that it would be inappropriate to make comments while the investigations are ongoing.
“We have conveyed our sincere condolences to the Rees family and are profoundly saddened by this incident,” Fifield remarked in a statement.
“We are committed to providing our complete support to the Rees family during this challenging period,” he further added.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which oversees safety regulations, is probing why Rees may not have been accounted for when passengers were boarding at Lizard Island.
Additionally, a workplace safety regulatory body is also investigating the tragedy.
According to reports, Rees was first reported missing when she failed to show up in the ship’s dining area for dinner.
The cruise ship made an early return to Lizard Island on Sunday morning.
Australia’s safety protocols for the Great Barrier Reef tourism sector faced significant scrutiny following the incident in 1998, where American tourists Tom and Eileen Lonergan were left behind at sea during a group scuba diving excursion. The crew of the tour boat did not realize they were missing until two days later, and the bodies of the Lonergans were never recovered.
