The crew of a luxury cruise ship reportedly failed to notice an elderly passenger missing until she didn’t arrive for dinner during the early stages of a £40,000 dream voyage. The incident occurred after the Coral Adventurer had already left the remote Lizard Island, situated in the Great Barrier Reef, leaving the 80-year-old woman behind.

According to Queensland Police, the absence of the solo traveler was only reported at 10 p.m. local time, five hours after the ship had departed the island. Initially, crew members suspected she might have fallen overboard, as detailed in a report by The Australian.

This tragic event has prompted Australian authorities to investigate whether the woman, who was discovered deceased after missing the ship’s departure, could have been rescued. The investigation is being conducted by police and a coroner, focusing on the circumstances surrounding her death on the isolated island during the inaugural stop of a 60-day cruise circumnavigating Australia.

Officials are examining several aspects of the case, including the reasons behind her being left behind and the potential oversights that led to this unfortunate outcome.

Police and the coroner launched an investigation into the death of the woman on the remote Far North Queensland island, who had been on the first stop of the 60-day circumnavigation of Australia.

Investigators are looking into various factors, including how and why she was stranded.

Other factors are why the search was delayed and whether the woman could have been saved from the popular tourist spot.

Crew alerted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Canberra-based 24/7 emergency hotline, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, on Saturday night – long after the woman was due to re-board the NRMA-owned Coral Expeditions cruise ship.

The summit of Cook’s Look on Lizard Island

The tourist was reported missing after she failed to return to the Coral Adventurer cruise ship (vessel pictured)

The death came just a day after the Coral Adventurer kicked off its journey, embarking from Cairns on Friday afternoon. 

The ship then anchored off Lizard Island on Saturday, where passengers could take a smaller boat to hike and snorkel on the resort island, 90km northeast of Cooktown.

Authorities believe the deceased woman was hiking Lizard Island’s highest summit off the Far North Queensland coast on Saturday.

It’s understood the woman was part of a group walking up to the Cook’s Look summit when she stopped and became lost on her way back to the ship.

‘The group continued on and boarded the vessel before realising she was not there,’ a source told The Australian.

Another source claimed that the woman had fallen from a cliff.

The tourist was reported missing Saturday night after she failed to return to the cruise ship and her body was located and retrieved from the mountain the following day. 

Yachtie Traci Ayris raised ‘questions about safety protocols and a delayed start to the search due to it not being known that the woman was missing’, the Cairns Post reported.

Ms Ayris and her partner Matthew, who were aboard SV Vellamo anchored near Lizard Island, were listening to emergency radio transmissions sent from the Coral Expeditions vessel.

‘They did headcounts for snorkellers (which we heard) but not for other guests on the island it would seem,’ Ms Ayris told the Cairns Post.

‘The last people came down from the track and got into tender then the (ship) left very soon after that.

Ayris and her partner Matthew (pictured), who were aboard SV Vellamo anchored near Lizard Island, were listening to emergency radio transmissions sent from the Coral Expeditions vessel

‘There was not a lot of time between when the last passengers left the beach to when they up anchored.

‘We even commented, “Wow they left fast”.’

Vessel Finder showed the Coral Adventurer sailed back towards Lizard Island about 9pm on Saturday and arrived at about 2am on Sunday.

Ms Ayris told the Cairns Post a helicopter began an aerial search at about midnight but after arriving, seven crew from the Coral Adventurer went ashore and joined the search of the mountain by torchlight.

‘We watched the search up the mountain,’ Ms Ayris said.

‘Until the search was called off around 3am and then (resumed) again at first light.

‘The chopper arrived at first light and it went directly to Telstra Rock (where she was last seen) and immediately it hovered then went straight to the air strip.

‘We knew that it had found her and the lack of activity told us that she was clearly dead.

‘She lay there all day and was finally airlifted [just before 4pm].’

The tourist was hiking with other cruise ship passengers to Cook’s Look summit on Lizard Island when she needed to stop and became lost on her way back to the vessel

The couple also posted on their SV Vellamo Facebook page the tragedy was ‘very sad for everyone involved’. 

‘Never a dull moment at Lizard. Sadly we witnessed a terrible incident where a hiker from a cruise ship was (possibly) left behind and was found later deceased.  

‘It took all day for repatriation of the poor hiker from the mountainside. It left us all feeling very sad for everyone involved.’

Australian Maritime Safety Authority officials will meet the 112-passenger Coral Adventurer when it docks in Darwin on Sunday.

The cruise ship is currently in waters off Thursday Island in the Torres Strait as the $80,000-a-ticket voyage continues. 

Coral Expeditions confirmed the woman’s death to the Daily Mail. 

‘The crew notified authorities that a woman was missing, and a search and rescue operation was launched on land and sea,’ chief executive Mark Fifield said.

‘Following the operation, Coral Expeditions was notified by Queensland Police that the woman had been found deceased on Lizard Island.

An excursion to Lizard Island ended in tragedy with the death of an elderly tourist on Saturday

‘While investigations into the incident are continuing, we are deeply sorry that this has occurred and are offering our full support to the woman’s family.

‘The Coral team has been in contact with the woman’s family, and we will continue to offer support to them through this difficult process.

‘We are working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation. We are unable to comment further while this process is underway.’

Cruising expert Adrian Tassone admitted he had no idea how it could have occurred.

‘That’s something I’m really struggling to understand myself,’ he said.

‘Cruise lines in normal operation will always know who is on the ship and who isn’t.

‘If the reports are to be believed and this woman was left on the island, I really can’t understand how that occurred.

‘It’s something that most people are questioning and are trying to come to grips with.’

Mr Tassone said that many cruise companies have strict systems in place, such as headcounts, to ensure all passengers are accounted for at all times.

‘It’s atypical from the regular cruise environment.

‘This ship held a maximum of 120 passengers, so I struggle to understand how a headcount wasn’t conducted.

‘Typically, you get on a cruise ship and you scan a card that is your key card, which indicates when you’re on and off the ship. Those manifests I understand are across all cruise lines.

‘I don’t know if Coral Expeditions operates in a different manner to that, but I am really surprised something more robust isn’t in place that should have prevented this from happening.’

The Coral Adventurer, which has capacity for 120 guests, is currently on a 60-night circumnavigation of Australia.

‘It’s unusual for numbers to not be known and checked, but I think what’s important in this instance is that it’s an expedition cruise,’ Mr Tassone said.

Popular with divers, snorkellers and hikers, Lizard Island is one of the most remote tourism destinations on the Great Barrier Reef.

Cook’s Look is the highest point on the island and follows the footsteps of British explorer Captain James Cook, who is believed to be the first European to have trekked up the mountain in 1770 after his ship Endeavour struck a reef.

‘It covers four kilometres and at times is very steep so we recommend medium to high fitness and agility to safely undertake this hike,’ the Lizard Island website states.

‘Due to the time it takes to hike and the heat of the day, it is recommended that you hike early in the morning.

‘Those that have done this hike say it is challenging but incredibly rewarding.’