An 80-year-old cruise passenger has been found dead on the Great Barrier Reef Island, a day after the ship’s crew accidentally abandoned her.
Katherine Reese, the passenger’s daughter, on Thursday accused the cruise company Coral Expeditions of “failing care and common sense” that left her mother, Susan Reese, to die alone.
Sydney resident Susan Rees was on the second day of a cruise circumnavigating Australia when she disembarked the Coral Adventurer last Saturday on Lizard Island. I planned to hike with other passengers to see the mountain.
Officials said the ship left the resort island about five hours before it was reported missing late Saturday.
“We are shocked and saddened that Coral Adventurer has left Lizard Island after an organized trip without Mum,” Katherine Rees, who also lives in Sydney, said in a statement.
The daughter added: “From the little that we have been told, it appears that there was a failure of care and common sense. We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and my mother felt ill while climbing the hill. She was asked to disembark without an escort. She then left the ship, apparently without taking a passenger count. At some point in this sequence, or soon after, my mother died alone.”
The Australian newspaper reported that a search helicopter crew spotted Susan Rees’ body the next day about 50 meters (55 yards) from the hiking trail leading to the lookout point.
The newspaper said she appeared to have fallen from a cliff or slope.
Catherine Rees said she hoped the coroner’s inquest would reveal what the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life.
The coroner will investigate the “non-suspicious death,” police said in a statement. The Forensic Medicine Court also confirmed that the death had been referred for investigation.
Mark Fifield, CEO of Coral Expeditions, said his company is cooperating fully with official investigations into the death. He said it would be inappropriate to comment while those investigations are underway.
“We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to Reese’s family and are deeply sorry that this happened,” Fifield said in a statement.
He added: “We continue to offer our full support to the Reese family during this difficult time.”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, a safety regulatory body, is investigating why Rees did not know when passengers were boarding the plane at Lizard Island.
The tragedy is also being investigated by the workplace safety watchdog.
The newspaper said that Reese was first noticed missing when she did not show up to the ship’s dining room for dinner.
The cruise ship returned to Lizard Island early Sunday morning.
Australia’s safety standards for the Great Barrier Reef tourism industry came under intense scrutiny after American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan were abandoned at sea during a group diving trip in 1998. The tour boat crew did not realize they were missing until two days later. The Lonergans’ bodies were never found.
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