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One two-month cruise around the Land Down Under is being halted days after the fatal incident of an older lady who was stranded by the vessel on a remote coastal location.

The passenger had been hiking on the tropical location with fellow passengers from the vessel, but parted ways from the party for a pause. The liner left without her and went back later that day after the personnel discovered the passenger was missing.

An extensive rescue mission discovered her body the subsequent day.

Officials are investigating the event, alongside police and the state coroner.

The CEO of the cruise operator said that travelers and crew on the ship were notified that the remainder of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and earlier engine troubles".

In a statement, he further stated that passengers would be provided a total repayment, and said the operator was working "to arrange the homeward trips of the travelers via specially arranged planes".

Regulatory bodies also issued an revised statement, and said they had "issued a notice to the Master" prohibiting any further travelers from getting on the vessel.

The official said that they would inspect the ship in the port city upon its arrival.

Timeline of Occurrences

The ship initially left the coastal city on October 24th, and was merely two days into the voyage at the point of the 80-year-old's death. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the itinerary.

Travelers on the vessel - who usually pay tens of thousands of dollars to participate in the expedition - were taken there for a daily excursion with the possibility of walking or underwater exploration.

Family Response

The offspring of the victim said that her loved ones was "shocked and distressed that the liner left the island after an scheduled outing without my mum".

In her statement, she described her mother as an "active 80-year-old" who was a member of a walking club.

"From the little facts we have been told, it appears that there was a failure of care and common sense," she stated.

She added that she hoped the investigation would be able to determine what "the company should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's life".

"Based on information from the police that it was a exceptionally warm day, and mother became unwell on the mountain ascent," she stated.

"She was asked her to head down, without accompaniment. Then the boat departed, apparently without doing a passenger count.

"During some point in that chain of events, or soon after, mother died, alone."

Operator Reaction

Through an announcement, the Head verified that the company was "cooperating fully with investigators to aid their investigation".

He mentioned that the organization was "very regretful that this has happened" and had provided its total backing to the loved ones.

Cruise Industry Procedures

The liner caters for up to one hundred twenty guests with nearly fifty staff, according to official information. It was purpose-built to access distant areas of Australia's coast and is equipped with "auxiliary vessels" - compact vessels used to transport travelers on land visits.

Events such as this are uncommon, and liners have protocols to document which passengers are embarking or getting off, according to industry experts.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] onboard just isn't an option," an authority stated.

Shipping companies take these processes extremely carefully and have "advanced technology in place to stop such incidents from occurring," the authority further stated.

"This is presumably a surprising - and tragic - single occurrence."