‘Mum died, alone’: Woman rebukes cruise company after her elderly mother was abandoned on an island and left to die

A 60-day cruise around the coast of Australia has been canceled after Suzanne Rees, an 80-year-old passenger, passed away due to being left behind by the crew on a remote island.

Rees had been hiking with fellow passengers on Lizard Island, a mostly deserted piece of land off the coast of Australia, when she reportedly split from the group after growing tired on the steep trail. When the group returned to the cruise ship Suzanne was not with them and yet they left the island without checking she was on-board.

Unfortunately for the elderly woman, she had not made it back to the ship and by the time her absence was noticed and a rescue party sent for her she had already perished. An investigation into how such an incident was allowed to occur has been launched.

What happened to Suzanne Rees?

Although details surrounding the incident are somewhat scarce, Rees’ daughter, Karen, shared what she had been told. “From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,” she claimed, adding that she was hoping the coroner’s inquiry could tell her what “the company should have done that might have saved mum’s life.”

According to Karen, it had been a very hot day and Suzanne had fallen ill on the hike up a hill. She was then asked to head back down by herself with nobody else to guide her. After several hours of hiking the rest of the group returned to the ship and it seems nobody thought to double-check that Rees had made it back by herself.

“At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, mum died, alone,” Karen said. Suzanne Rees’ body was discovered on the island the next day.

The response from the cruise company

The cruise, which had only been two days into its 60 day journey, was canceled shortly after news of Suzanne Rees death. In a statement from Coral Expeditions CEO, Mark Fifield, the company announced that the remainder of the journey would no longer go ahead in light of the “tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues.”

The company offered full refunds for cruise passengers who likely paid tens of thousands of dollars for the experience. Fifield said that the company was “deeply sorry that this has occurred” and had offered its full support to the Rees family. He also confirmed that Coral Expeditions was “working closely with Queensland Police and other authorities to support their investigation.”

Incidents like this are typically rare as cruise chips have systems and tech in place for keeping count of passengers. However, somehow Suzanne’s absence went unnoticed and the consequences were tragic.