MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An 80-year-old cruise passenger has been found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island, a day after she was accidentally abandoned there by the ship’s crew.
Suzanne Rees, a Sydney resident, was on the second day of a cruise circumnavigating Australia when she disembarked the Coral Adventurer last Saturday at Lizard Island.
The ship left the resort island around five hours before reporting her missing late on Saturday, officials said.
“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense.
We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, a safety regulator, is investigating why Rees may not have been accounted for when passengers were boarding at Lizard Island.
Australia’s safety standards for its Great Barrier Reef tourism industry came under intense scrutiny after American couple Tom and Eileen Lonergan were abandoned at sea during a group scuba dive in 1998. »