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One extended cruise around Australia is being halted in the wake of the death of an senior woman who was stranded by the ship on a distant island.

The elderly woman had been hiking on the remote island with fellow passengers from the cruise ship, but separated from the excursion for a rest. The ship sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the personnel realised the passenger was not present.

A large-scale rescue mission located her person the next day.

Investigative bodies are investigating the tragedy, in coordination with investigators and the state coroner.

Chief Executive of the cruise operator stated that travelers and personnel on the ship were notified that the continuation of the voyage had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and previous mechanical issues".

In a statement, he added that guests would be provided a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the passengers via private aircraft".

Officials also released an revised communication, and said they had "provided a order to the Master" banning any further travelers from boarding the vessel.

The representative said that they would attend the liner in the Australian city upon its arrival.

Sequence of Occurrences

The vessel initially left the Australian port on October 24th, and was merely two days into the expedition at the time of the senior passenger's death. The remote island was the first stop on the voyage.

Passengers on the ship - who typically pay tens of thousands of dollars to participate in the expedition - were taken there for a shore visit with the option of trekking or snorkelling.

Next of Kin Statement

The child of the elderly passenger said that her loved ones was "surprised and grieved that the liner left Lizard Island after an scheduled excursion without my parent".

In her statement, she described her parent as an "vigorous octogenarian" who was a affiliate of a bushwalking club.

"Based on limited information we have been provided, it appears that there was a breakdown of attention and basic judgment," she stated.

She added that she wished the investigation would be able to pinpoint what "the organization should have undertaken that might have preserved Mother's being".

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a extremely warm day, and mum fell ill on the uphill trek," she revealed.

"She was asked her to return, alone. Then the ship left, seemingly without conducting a passenger count.

"At a certain moment in that chain of events, or not long after, mother succumbed, without company."

Company Reaction

Through an announcement, the CEO verified that the organization was "cooperating fully with investigators to support their investigation".

He mentioned that the company was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had extended its total backing to the family.

Maritime Business Practices

The vessel accommodates up to 120 travelers with forty-six staff, according to corporate information. It was specially constructed to reach distant regions of Australia's coastline and is outfitted with "small boats" - small boats used to ferry passengers on land visits.

Incidents such as this are infrequent, and liners have protocols to record which travelers are boarding or getting off, according to travel authorities.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship really isn't an possibility," one expert stated.

Cruise lines consider these methods with great importance and have "clever tech in place to stop such occurrences from taking place," the specialist further stated.

"This seems to be most likely a shocking - and unfortunate - one-off."