Copyright irishmirror
An 80-year-old woman has been found dead on a tropical island on the Great Barrier Reef after reportedly being left behind by the cruise ship she was travelling on. A search operation was launched on Saturday night after the woman was reported missing hours after the Coral Adventurer cruise ship visited Lizard Island, a resort island located off the coast of Cooktown, roughly 240km from Cairns. The woman, who was a solo traveller, left the 112-passenger vessel to go onshore and visit the island but failed to board the boat before it departed. She is believed to have separated from her fellow travellers during a walk around the island. Her body was found on Sunday on Lizard Island, with police describing her death as "sudden and non-suspicious." “The woman was reported missing to the police on 25 October, after failing to board a vessel in waters off Queensland earlier on Saturday,” police said in a statement. “A report will be prepared for the coroner.” Lizard Island was one of the first stops of the 60-day cruise around Australia, with tickets costing in the tens of thousands of dollars for the journey. Coral Expeditions chief executive Mark Fifield confirmed a “tragic” death occurred during an excursion to Lizard Island. “On Saturday, 25 October, the crew notified authorities that a woman was missing, and a search and rescue operation was launched on land and sea," Mr Fifield said. "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. We are unable to comment further while this process is underway.” The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has launched an investigation into the incident and said it would meet the ship's crew upon its expected arrival in Darwin later this week. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
