An ill-fated cruise ship is returning to shore after the death of a female passenger who was allegedly left stranded on a remote Australian tropical island.
The Coral Adventurer is expected back in far north Queensland on Tuesday, with Australian Maritime Safety Authority investigators set to board the vessel when it arrives in Cairns.
A full investigation is underway after passenger Suzanne Rees' death, with head count policies and ship staffing levels to come under scrutiny.
Lizard Island, an exclusive resort destination north of Cairns, was the first stop on the Coral Adventurer's 60-day tour after its October 24 departure.
Rees had been hiking on the island on October 25 with fellow passengers but broke off from the group after feeling unwell.
The 80-year-old grandmother never returned to the ship.
The ship left the island and returned hours later once the crew realised Rees was missing that evening.
Rescue services recovered Rees's body the next day.
The ship – run by Coral Expeditions – continued its journey north before the cruise was cancelled on the weekend.
Coral Expeditions confirmed passengers had disembarked in the Torres Strait for chartered flights home.
"Coral Expeditions notified passengers and crew on board the Coral Adventurer vessel that, following the tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues, the decision had been made to cancel the remainder of the voyage," CEO Mark Fifield said in a statement.
"Since that time, our team has worked to co-ordinate the return journeys of the passengers via chartered flights, as well as the crew."
The Coral Adventurer caters for up to 120 guests with 46 crew, according to the company's website.
Rees' daughter said earlier her family was shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island "without my mum".
"From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense," Katherine Rees said in a statement.
She hoped a coroner's inquiry would be able to pinpoint what "the company should have done that might have saved mum's life".
"We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mum fell ill on the hill climb," she said.
"She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count.
"At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone."
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority investigation will probe how Rees remained unaccounted for when the vessel departed Lizard Island.
Queensland Police described her death as "sudden and non-suspicious" with a report to be prepared for the coroner.
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