A 80-year-old cruise passenger has perished alone on a Great Barrier Reef island, her body discovered just hours after she was abandoned by the ship's crew. Suzanne Rees, an elderly woman from Sydney, was part of a guided hike on Saturday when she apparently fell to her death while trying to descend from a hill.
Rees' daughter Katherine Rees described the events leading up to her mother's demise as "a failure of care and common sense" by the cruise company Coral Expeditions. According to Ms Rees, her mother had felt unwell during the hike and was asked to head down the mountain alone without any escort. The ship left Lizard Island, a resort island in the Great Barrier Reef, without doing a passenger count.
The crew of a search helicopter spotted Suzanne Rees' body just over 50 meters off the hiking trail the next day, suggesting that she may have fallen from a cliff or slope. Ms Rees has expressed her anger and sadness at the incident, stating that she hopes a coroner's inquiry will determine what steps Coral Expeditions could have taken to prevent her mother's death.
Coral Expeditions' chief executive Mark Fifield said his company was cooperating fully with investigations into the incident. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is also looking into why Suzanne Rees may not have been accounted for when passengers boarded at Lizard Island, while a workplace safety watchdog is investigating the tragedy as well.
This latest incident in Australia's Great Barrier Reef tourism industry has raised serious concerns about the country's ability to regulate its tourist activities. In 1998, an American couple was abandoned at sea during a group scuba dive, and their bodies were never found. The tragedy highlights the need for greater scrutiny of the industry's safety standards.
Coral Expeditions' failure to provide adequate care and supervision to passengers has left many questioning how such an incident could have occurred. Suzanne Rees' family is now waiting for answers from the authorities and a coroner's inquiry into her death, which may shed light on the circumstances surrounding her tragic demise.
Rees' daughter Katherine Rees described the events leading up to her mother's demise as "a failure of care and common sense" by the cruise company Coral Expeditions. According to Ms Rees, her mother had felt unwell during the hike and was asked to head down the mountain alone without any escort. The ship left Lizard Island, a resort island in the Great Barrier Reef, without doing a passenger count.
The crew of a search helicopter spotted Suzanne Rees' body just over 50 meters off the hiking trail the next day, suggesting that she may have fallen from a cliff or slope. Ms Rees has expressed her anger and sadness at the incident, stating that she hopes a coroner's inquiry will determine what steps Coral Expeditions could have taken to prevent her mother's death.
Coral Expeditions' chief executive Mark Fifield said his company was cooperating fully with investigations into the incident. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is also looking into why Suzanne Rees may not have been accounted for when passengers boarded at Lizard Island, while a workplace safety watchdog is investigating the tragedy as well.
This latest incident in Australia's Great Barrier Reef tourism industry has raised serious concerns about the country's ability to regulate its tourist activities. In 1998, an American couple was abandoned at sea during a group scuba dive, and their bodies were never found. The tragedy highlights the need for greater scrutiny of the industry's safety standards.
Coral Expeditions' failure to provide adequate care and supervision to passengers has left many questioning how such an incident could have occurred. Suzanne Rees' family is now waiting for answers from the authorities and a coroner's inquiry into her death, which may shed light on the circumstances surrounding her tragic demise.
this is like totally unacceptable 
Coral Expeditions is literally shying away from responsibility over their own negligence, meanwhile Suzanne Rees' family is left to pick up the pieces and deal with grief without answers 
50 meters off a hiking trail doesn't sound like a huge drop to me either 
the whole passenger count thing is just another red flag 
how did no one notice she was missing in the first place? 
this incident is not just about Suzanne Rees, it's about accountability and making sure these cruises have proper safety measures in place 
. i mean, how can you be so careless with people's lives? it's just unacceptable 
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. there have been other similar incidents in the past where tourists were left stranded or worse. it's high time someone takes a closer look at the industry's safety standards and puts some regulations in place 
. the families of these victims deserve answers and justice, and it's up to us to demand more from these companies 
.
. no more excuses, no more complacency 
. we need change, and we need it now 
.
... doesn't matter who they are, it's not right to leave someone behind in this way. hope the authorities take action & make sure something like this never happens again 
this is so shocking I can't believe they just left that poor lady to her fate no one should have to go through what Suzanne Rees' family is going through. It's unacceptable that the ship's crew didn't do a proper passenger count and that they just abandoned someone who was feeling unwell 
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! I'm all for safety protocols and checks, it's just common sense, you know? 
Their negligence is staggering. I mean, who falls from a cliff while trying to descend from a hill on purpose? 
The fact that they left without doing a passenger count... it's like they were just expecting everyone to magically stay on board... 