Grieving daughter of cruise ship passenger left behind on remote Australian island says there was a failure of care'

"From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense, Katherine Rees said. We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb. 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."

"According to the ship's satellite tracking data, the vessel, part of the fleet of luxury cruise company Coral Expeditions, arrived at Lizard Island, about 250km north of Cairns, on Saturday morning. It left the island that afternoon. VesselFinder tracking shows the ship turned around before 9pm that night, arriving back at Lizard Island in the early hours of Sunday morning."

An 80-year-old passenger disembarked the Coral Adventurer at Lizard Island during a 60-day circumnavigation and did not return before the ship departed that afternoon. Her body was found the following day. Family members allege a failure of care and common sense after she became unwell during a climb, was asked to descend unescorted, and the vessel left without apparently conducting a passenger count. Satellite tracking shows the ship left the island then returned in the early hours of the following morning. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority reported the vessel's master notified authorities after the discovery.

Read at www.theguardian.com