80-YEAR-OLD CRUISE PASSENGER FOUND DEAD AFTER BEING LEFT ON GREAT BARRIER REEF ISLAND. (PHOTO).

 80-year-old cruise passenger found dead after being left on Great Barrier Reef island

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - An 80-year-old woman was found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island after being accidentally left behind by a cruise ship, authorities said.

Suzanne Rees, a Sydney resident, disembarked from the Coral Adventurer last Saturday at Lizard Island during a cruise around Australia to join a group hike to a lookout. The ship departed the island about five hours before reporting her missing. Her daughter, Katherine Rees, accused the cruise line, Coral Expeditions, of a “failure of care and common sense” that left her mother alone and vulnerable in extreme heat. Katherine said her mother felt unwell during the hike, was sent down unescorted, and the ship left without accounting for all passengers.

The next day, a search helicopter located Suzanne Rees’ body roughly 50 meters off the hiking trail. Reports indicate she may have fallen from a cliff or slope. Police described the death as “non-suspicious,” and a coroner’s investigation has been launched. Coral Expeditions said it is fully cooperating with authorities and expressed condolences to the Rees family.

Australia’s Maritime Safety Authority is investigating how Rees was not accounted for when the ship departed, while a workplace safety body is also reviewing the incident. Suzanne Rees was first noticed missing when she did not show up for dinner on the ship, which returned to Lizard Island the following morning.

The incident has renewed concerns about safety protocols for Great Barrier Reef tourism, recalling the 1998 case of American scuba divers Tom and Eileen Lonergan, who were accidentally abandoned at sea and never found.