Australian Cruise Canceled After 80-Year-Old Woman Who ‘Failed to Board’ Was

Australian Cruise Canceled After 80-Year-Old Woman Who ‘Failed to Board’ Was

NEED TO KNOW

The the rest of an Australian cruise has been cancelled after the dying of an 80-year-old passenger.

Suzanne Rees was discovered lifeless on Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, off Queensland, on Sunday, Oct. 26, having been reported lacking just before midnight the day before. She had been climbing the Cook’s Look peak on the distant island when she allegedly stopped to relaxation and have become separated from the group, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

The Coral Adventurer ship left without her when she “failed to board.” It is believed that Rees may have died after falling down a cliff, according to news.com.au.

Nearly a week after the incident, the CEO of Coral Expeditions, Mark Fifield, confirmed that the remainder of the voyage would be cancelled.

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Lizard Island

He told the BBC that passengers and crew aboard the ship were told on Wednesday, Oct. 29, that the remainder of their cruise would not go ahead.

“Following the tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues, the decision had been made to cancel the remainder of the voyage,” said Fifield, per the BBC.

He said passengers were told they would receive a full refund and that Coral Expeditions would coordinate their return flights.

Fifield also shared in an Oct. 30 statement that the company has offered “heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred.”

“The circumstances of her tragic death are the subject of official investigations. We are fully cooperating with those investigations to determine the facts,” the CEO continued, per news.com.au. “For this reason, it would be inappropriate to comment further on the investigations while they are underway. We continue to provide our full support to the Rees family through this difficult time.”

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Coral Adventurer

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Rees’ daughter Katherine expressed being “shocked and saddened” that the ship departed “without my mum,” according to the BBC. “From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,” she added.

Katherine went on to claim that, after her mom “fell ill” while climbing Cook’s Look on a hot day, “she was asked to head down, unescorted.” She continued, “Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count.”

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