Woman abandoned by cruise ship on Australian island found dead

Australian authorities are investigating after an 80-year-old woman abandoned on the Great Barrier Reef by a cruise ship was found dead.

The woman had been hiking on Lizard Island, 250 km (155 miles) north of Cairns, with other passengers from the Coral Adventurer cruise ship on Saturday, but is believed to have broken away from the group to rest.

The ship left the island around sunset but returned several hours later after the crew realized the woman was missing. A massive search operation found the woman’s body on Sunday morning.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it was investigating and would meet the ship’s crew when it docked in Darwin later this week.

An AMSA spokesman said it was first alerted to the missing woman at around 21:00 local time on Saturday (05:00 GMT on Friday) by the ship’s captain.

The authority said it will work with other relevant agencies to investigate the case and that it takes the safety of passengers and crew on board commercial ships seriously.

Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield said staff had contacted the woman’s family and offered support over the “tragic death”.

“While investigations into the incident continue, we deeply regret that this happened and offer our full support to the woman’s family,” Fifield said.

The elderly Australian woman is believed to have joined a group hike up the island’s highest peak, Cooks Luk, before deciding she needed to rest, according to the Courier Mail.

Tracey Iris was sailing near the island last weekend and told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) she saw a helicopter using a searchlight to search for a footpath on the island around midnight on Saturday.

She said about seven people with torches went to the island to search, but it was called off at around 03:00 local time with a helicopter returning on Sunday morning when the body was found.

“We knew she was dead because they immediately called everyone from the search,” she told the ABC.

“And nobody went to where the helicopter was hovering until the police arrived later that day.”

Iris said the incident was clearly distressing for the crew and passengers.

“It was very sad in this paradise that this tragedy happened. It should have been a happy time for this lovely lady.”

It is understood the woman was on the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia, with tickets costing tens of thousands of dollars for the trip.

Coral Adventurer serves up to 120 guests with a crew of 46, according to the company’s website. It was specially built to access remote areas of the Australian coast and was equipped with “tenders” – small boats used to carry passengers on day trips.

Queensland Police said a coroner’s report would be prepared into the woman’s “sudden and suspicious death”.