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One two-month journey circling the Australian Coast has been cancelled in the wake of the fatal incident of an senior female passenger who was left behind by the ship on a remote island.

The elderly woman had been walking on the remote island with fellow passengers from the vessel, but broke off from the excursion for a break. The vessel sailed away leaving her and came back several hours later after the crew became aware the passenger was not present.

A major hunt found her remains the following day.

Authorities are investigating the tragedy, alongside investigators and the official investigator.

Chief Executive of the shipping company stated that travelers and crew on the vessel were notified that the rest of the cruise had been cancelled due to the "sad loss and prior technical problems".

In a statement, he mentioned that travelers would be provided a full refund, and said the operator was working "to arrange the homeward trips of the travelers via private aircraft".

Authorities also released an revised statement, and said they had "provided a directive to the Commander" prohibiting any additional guests from getting on the liner.

The representative said that they would visit the liner in the port city upon its return.

Chronology of Occurrences

The ship initially left the coastal city on October 24th, and was only 48 hours into the voyage at the point of the 80-year-old's death. Lizard Island was the opening port on the journey.

Travelers on the ship - who usually pay substantial amounts of money to participate in the voyage - were transported there for a day trip with the choice of trekking or snorkeling.

Relatives Reaction

The daughter of the victim said that her loved ones was "surprised and saddened that the liner left the location after an scheduled outing without my mother".

Through her comments, she described her parent as an "vigorous 80-year-old" who was a participant of a hiking club.

"From the little facts we have been told, it appears that there was a breakdown of care and basic judgment," she stated.

She further stated that she wished the inquiry would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have preserved Her existence".

"Based on information from the authorities that it was a very hot afternoon, and mother fell ill on the mountain ascent," she revealed.

"Officials suggested her to return, without accompaniment. Then the vessel sailed away, apparently without performing a headcount.

"At some stage in that chain of events, or not long after, mother died, by herself."

Operator Reaction

Via official communication, the Head verified that the company was "cooperating fully with authorities to assist their investigation".

He mentioned that the company was "extremely apologetic that this has transpired" and had extended its total backing to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Practices

The liner accommodates up to a hundred twenty passengers with 46 crew, according to corporate information. It was specially constructed to access isolated areas of Australia's coast and is outfitted with "auxiliary vessels" - small boats used to take individuals on land visits.

Events of this nature are infrequent, and liners have systems to document which passengers are embarking or disembarking, according to industry experts.

"Going ashore secretly or [back] on the ship simply isn't an option," one expert remarked.

Vessel operators regard these processes with great importance and have "clever tech in place to avoid such incidents from occurring," the specialist continued.

"This is most likely a stunning - and unfortunate - isolated incident."