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One two-month cruise circling the Land Down Under has been cancelled in the wake of the death of an older lady who was abandoned by the cruise liner on a remote tropical isle.

The elderly woman had been hiking on the remote island with fellow passengers from the cruise ship, but separated from the party for a rest. The ship sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the crew became aware the passenger was unaccounted for.

A large-scale rescue mission located her body the subsequent day.

Authorities are examining the tragedy, in coordination with law enforcement and the official investigator.

Chief Executive of the shipping company announced that travelers and personnel on the Coral Adventurer were told that the continuation of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and previous mechanical issues".

Via official communication, he mentioned that guests would be issued a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to organize the return journeys of the passengers via private aircraft".

Officials also published an updated announcement, and said they had "provided a order to the Commander" prohibiting any further travelers from boarding the vessel.

The official said that they would attend the liner in the port city upon its coming back.

Sequence of Incidents

The vessel initially left the Australian port on October 24th, and was merely two days into the journey at the moment of the 80-year-old's demise. The tropical location was the first stop on the itinerary.

Passengers on the vessel - who usually pay substantial amounts of dollars to participate in the expedition - were ferried there for a day trip with the possibility of walking or snorkeling.

Family Response

The offspring of the elderly passenger said that her family was "shocked and grieved that the vessel left the island after an organised outing without my mother".

Through her comments, she portrayed her mum as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a participant of a bushwalking club.

"Based on limited information we have been informed, it looks that there was a failure of responsibility and basic judgment," she said.

She added that she hoped the investigation would be able to identify what "the organization should have done that might have protected Mother's existence".

"We understand from the investigators that it was a exceptionally warm period, and mum became unwell on the mountain ascent," she explained.

"Officials suggested her to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, reportedly without doing a passenger count.

"At some stage in that process, or shortly after, mum succumbed, by herself."

Company Position

In a statement, the CEO verified that the organization was "collaborating extensively with officials to assist their investigation".

He mentioned that the company was "very regretful that this has transpired" and had offered its total backing to the loved ones.

Cruise Industry Standards

The vessel accommodates up to a hundred twenty passengers with nearly fifty personnel, according to official information. It was specially constructed to access isolated locations of the nation's shoreline and is outfitted with "tenders" - minor craft used to ferry travelers on day excursions.

Incidents such as this are uncommon, and liners have procedures to record which individuals are getting on or disembarking, according to maritime specialists.

"Leaving covertly or [back] onboard really isn't an option," one expert remarked.

Vessel operators take these procedures very seriously and have "clever tech in place to stop such events from happening," the specialist added.

"This appears to be presumably a shocking - and sad - one-off."