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The woman, who has not yet been identified, died in “sudden and non-suspicious” circumstances on October 25 after failing to board a cruise ship off the exclusive Far North Queensland island. The solo traveller was allegedly left behind by the Coral Adventurer on the first stop of a 60-day, $80,000 circumnavigation of Australia, and was not reported missing until hours later on Saturday night. The ship, which departed Cairns last week, had left the island around sunset but returned several hours later once the crew realised she had failed to return to the boat. Sources told The Australian that the woman had to stop when hiking the 4km trail to the island’s highest point, Cook’s Look, a three-hour round trip which is described by the Lizard Island Resort as “challenging” and recommended for guests with “medium to high fitness and agility”. “The group continued on and boarded the vessel before realising she was not there,” a source told the newspaper. The woman reportedly fell down a cliff. Her body was retrieved on Sunday following the delayed search, and police are investigating her death and whether she could have been saved. “How does something like this happen?” Barr asked cruising expert Adrian Tassone on Wednesday morning’s show. “That’s something that I am really struggling with trying to understand myself,” Mr Tassone said. “Cruise lines in normal sort of operation will always know who is on the ship and who is off the ship, so if the reports are to be believed and this woman was left behind on the island, I really can’t understand how that occurred. “That’s something that I think most people are questioning and trying to come to grips with. Really there are systems in place across the board that should prevent that from happening, so I don’t know what happened in this instance that led to that occurring. “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.” Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield confirmed the death of a passenger of its Coral Adventurer vessel, during an excursion to Lizard Island, in a statement to news.com.au on Tuesday. The vessel can carry up to 120 passengers and 46 crew. “Coral Expeditions can confirm the tragic death of a passenger on the Coral Adventurer during an excursion to Lizard Island in Queensland,” he said. “On Saturday October 25, the crew notified authorities that a woman was missing, and a search and rescue operation was launched on land and sea. Following the operation, Coral Expeditions was notified by Queensland Police that the woman had been found deceased on Lizard Island. “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 have 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.” Asked whether the woman’s family would be refunded her cruise fees, a spokesman for Coral Expeditions said on Wednesday the company would not comment on private conversations. “What we can reiterate is that we are offering our full support to the woman’s family and will continue to do so,” he said. The Lizard Island stopover is included in Coral Expeditions’ 60-day voyage, which costs between $81,000 and $97,200. Lizard Island is roughly 1600km northeast of Brisbane and 95km northeast of Cooktown, its closest population centre. It is renowned for world-class snorkelling and diving, and its rich Aboriginal cultural history, dating back almost two millennia. Cook’s Look is named after Captain James Cook, who climbed there to navigate his way out of the reef. “Explore secluded Lizard Island, with crystal clear waters, swimming, snorkelling and sparkling white beaches,” the Coral Expeditions website reads. “Enjoy a guided walk to Cook’s Look peak, where Captain James Cook sighted navigable passage through the treacherous reef after Endeavour repairs.” Queensland Police confirmed in a statement to news.com.au that the “sudden and non-suspicious death of a missing woman in her 80s” was being investigated and a report was being prepared for the coroner. “The woman was reported missing to the police on October 25, after failing to board a vessel in waters off Queensland earlier on Saturday,” the spokesperson said. Traci Ayris was sailing near the island at the time. Speaking to the Cairns Post, Ms Ayris claimed “they did headcounts for snorkellers [which we heard] but not for other guests on the island it would seem”. “The last people came down from the track and got into tender then the [ship] left very soon after that,” she said. “We even commented, ‘Wow they left fast.’” Ms Ayris told the ABC she saw a helicopter using a spotlight to search the walking trail at around midnight on Saturday, and that she saw about seven people with torches searching on foot before it was called off at around 3am on Sunday. The helicopter returned at about 9.30am Sunday morning when the body was found “right away”, she said. “We knew she was dead because they called everyone back from the search immediately,” she said. “And no one went to the spot that the chopper was hovering over until later that day when the police arrived.” Ms Ayris said the incident was clearly distressing for all involved. “We all felt so much for the Lizard Island Resort crew and the crews from [the] ships,” she said. “You could hear the devastation in their voices [on the radio]. It was very sad in this paradise to have this tragedy occur. It should have been a happy time for that lovely lady.” Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) officials will meet with the crew when the Coral Adventurer docks in Darwin on Sunday. — with Jack Evans
