An 80-year-old woman was left to die on a remote island after being abandoned by her cruise ship during an $80,000 once-in-a-lifetime voyage — prompting police to question how no one noticed her absence for hours.
The unidentified passenger had been participating in a hiking excursion on Lizard Island — a rugged nature reserve on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — alongside fellow travelers from the Coral Adventurer cruise ship on Saturday, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Authorities believe the woman became separated from her tour group during the outing. Despite her disappearance, the cruise liner departed the island at sunset as scheduled, leaving her stranded roughly 20 miles off the northwestern coast of Australia.
The body of an 80-year-old Australian woman was recovered from an island off the Great Barrier Reef after she was left stranded when her cruise ship sailed away without her.
It took several hours before the Coral Adventurer’s crew realized the elderly passenger — who had been traveling alone — had never re-boarded the vessel. The ship eventually turned back, but by then it was too late.
Rescue crews discovered her body early Sunday following an extensive search of Lizard Island and its surrounding waters.
Authorities are now investigating how the woman was left behind and whether her life could have been saved had her absence been noticed sooner. While the exact cause of death has not yet been confirmed, police said it is being treated as “sudden and non-suspicious.”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it plans to interview the ship’s crew when the vessel docks in Darwin in the coming days.
Traci Ayris, a traveler currently sailing in the area, told reporters she saw rescue helicopters scouring the island during the search effort.
The tragedy unfolded during the very first stop of the Coral Adventurer’s 60-day circumnavigation of Australia — a luxury voyage marketed as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“We all felt so much for the Lizard Island Resort crew and the ship crews,” witness Traci Ayris told the ABC, recalling the heartbreaking search. “You could hear the devastation in their voices over the radio. It was very sad — in this paradise, for such a tragedy to occur. It should have been a happy time for that lovely lady.”
The Coral Adventurer, which accommodates up to 120 passengers and 46 crew members, offers solo cabins for as much as $80,000 per person.
Coral Expeditions CEO Mark Fifield said the company is fully cooperating with investigators.
“While inquiries into the incident are ongoing, we are deeply sorry that this has occurred and are offering our full support to the woman’s family,” Fifield said in a statement. “The Coral team has been in contact with her relatives and will continue to provide support through this difficult time.”
