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An extensive extended voyage around the Land Down Under is being halted days after the death of an elderly woman who was stranded by the ship on a distant coastal location.

The elderly woman had been walking on the remote island with shipmates from the cruise ship, but broke off from the party for a break. The liner sailed away leaving her and went back after some time after the personnel became aware the lady was not present.

A major hunt found her remains the next day.

Authorities are looking into the incident, together with law enforcement and the state coroner.

Head of the cruise operator said that travelers and personnel on the vessel were informed that the remainder of the cruise had been terminated due to the "sad loss and earlier technical problems".

Through an announcement, he added that guests would be provided a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to coordinate the travel back of the individuals via specially arranged planes".

Authorities also issued an updated communication, and said they had "provided a notice to the Master" prohibiting any further travelers from boarding the vessel.

The spokesperson said that they would visit the vessel in the Australian city upon its coming back.

Timeline of Occurrences

The ship initially left Cairns on 24 October, and was only 48 hours into the voyage at the point of the senior passenger's death. The tropical location was the initial destination on the itinerary.

Passengers on board - who generally pay large sums of currency to take part in the cruise - were transported there for a shore visit with the possibility of walking or snorkeling.

Relatives Response

The daughter of the elderly passenger said that her family was "surprised and grieved that the liner left Lizard Island after an planned tour without my mum".

In her statement, she described her parent as an "vigorous octogenarian" who was a participant of a hiking group.

"From the little details we have been provided, it looks that there was a lapse of attention and common sense," she stated.

She further stated that she hoped the inquiry would be able to identify what "the organization should have undertaken that might have saved Mother's existence".

"We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and mother took sick on the uphill trek," she stated.

"Officials suggested her to return, unescorted. Then the ship sailed away, apparently without conducting a headcount.

"During some point in that sequence, or shortly after, she died, without company."

Operator Reaction

Through an announcement, the CEO verified that the company was "collaborating extensively with officials to aid their examination".

He stated that the firm was "extremely apologetic that this has occurred" and had provided its full support to the relatives.

Cruise Industry Practices

The vessel accommodates up to one hundred twenty guests with nearly fifty crew, according to company data. It was specifically designed to access isolated locations of the nation's shoreline and is equipped with "tenders" - compact vessels used to take individuals on shore trips.

Events such as this are uncommon, and cruise ships have protocols to record which travelers are getting on or disembarking, according to maritime specialists.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship just isn't an option," one expert commented.

Cruise lines consider these procedures very seriously and have "clever tech in place to prevent such events from occurring," the specialist added.

"This appears to be presumably a shocking - and sad - isolated incident."