Cruise passenger, 80, found dead after being abandoned on Great Barrier Reef island

An 80-year-old Australian woman, Suzanne Rees, was found dead on Lizard Island after being accidentally left behind by the cruise ship Coral Adventurer.

Her daughter, Katherine Rees, accused Coral Expeditions of a “failure of care and common sense,” saying the ship departed without conducting a passenger count after her mother fell ill during a hike.

Rees’ body was discovered the next day near a trail, and police said her death was non-suspicious but under coroner investigation, ABC News has reported.

Authorities, including the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, are probing how the oversight occurred, drawing comparisons to past tourism safety failures on the Great Barrier Reef.