Sunrise host Nat Barr has raised concerns about how an elderly woman was allegedly left behind by a cruise ship, only to be found deceased later on a tourist island.
Authorities are currently investigating the death of an 80-year-old passenger from Coral Expeditions. Her body was discovered at Lizard Island, located off the coast of Far North Queensland, on Saturday.
The woman, who was traveling alone on a luxurious $80,000 cruise, was hiking to the Cook’s Look summit with other passengers when she decided to pause. Unfortunately, she lost her way while attempting to return to the ship.
When she did not come back to the Coral Adventurer, which was anchored offshore, a land and sea search was initiated. The search effort lasted through the night and into the early morning hours.
The next day, her body was found 50 meters away from the hiking track and was retrieved from the mountain, raising serious concerns about the safety measures in place.
Witnesses anchored nearby on Saturday reported that the cruise ship initially departed without her and only returned hours later, using flashlights to search for her.
They also claimed that a headcount was conducted by crew when snorkelling passengers returned to the boat, but not those who had gone to the island.
Barr asked the question on everyone’s mind when a cruising expert appeared on the program on Wednesday.
Nat Barr has asked the question on everyone’s mind after the tragic death of a cruise ship passenger on Lizard Island on Saturday
The woman’s body was found 50m off the walking track on Lizard Island’s Cook’s Look summit Pictured is the search on Sunday
‘How does something like this happen?’ she asked.
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.
The Coral Adventurer, which has capacity for 120 guests, is currently on a 60-night circumnavigation of Australia, having departed Cairns last week.
‘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.
Adrian Tassone, also known as The Cruise and Travel Guy, says the tragic death of a cruise ship passenger on Lizard Island has left many unanswered questions
Boaties have claimed that cruise ship crew did a headcount of snorkelling passengers returning to the vessel but not those who explored Lizard Island (pictured)
‘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.’
A Coral Expeditions spokesman told Daily Mail he was unable to comment further while investigations are underway.
‘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,’ chief executive Mark Fifield said in a statement on Tuesday.
‘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.’
The woman was reported missing hours after she failed to return to the Coral Adventurer (vessel pictured)
The woman was on her first stop of a 60-day, $80,000-a-ticket trip around Australia when she died.
Traci Ayris and her partner were anchored off the island on Saturday when they began listening to 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,’ she told the Cairns Post.
‘The last people came down from the track and got into tender then the (ship) left very soon after that.
‘We even commented, “Wow they left fast”.’
She claimed the vessel didn’t return to search for the missing passenger until later that night.
Police are treating the woman’s death as non-suspicious and will prepare a report for the Coroner.
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.
Launched in 2019, the Coral Adventurer cruise ship has a capacity of up to 120 passengers and 46 crew.
The ship is currently en route to Darwin, where it will be met by Australian Maritime Safety Authority officials investigating the tragedy.
