The 68-year-old passenger from Sydney, Suzanne Rees, was sadly killed during the collision. She was abandoned on Lizard Island while on a cruise on board the Coral Adventurer. The tragic accident on Saturday was during the first leg of a 60-day Australian Circumnavigation cruise. The Coral Adventurer, carrying no more than 120 guests, set sail from Lizard Island later that afternoon. Rees was not, leading the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Queensland police to conduct a major multi-agency search.
Early on Saturday morning, Rees jumped ship. He was soon joined by other eager passengers who would hike to Cook’s Look mountain. She started to get sick on the ascent, though. Suzanne told her daughter, Katherine Rees, that she had been recommended to come down the mountain on her own. Katherine said that she had never been so shocked and sad in her life to see that ship depart without her mother.
“I am shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum, Suzanne,” – Katherine Rees
After the vessel’s departure, AMSA was alerted to the incident at around 9 PM on Saturday. The local authority immediately launched a combined land and sea search efforts with the national police. Mark Fifield, chief executive of Coral Expeditions, confirmed the tragic death of a passenger during the excursion and stated that the company was cooperating with ongoing investigations.
“A search and rescue operation was launched on land and sea. Following the operation, Coral Expeditions was notified by Queensland police that the woman had been found deceased on Lizard Island,” – Mark Fifield
As the Coral Adventurer returned to Lizard Island in the early hours of Sunday morning, their journey had only just begun. Just before 9 PM, it changed course. An inquiry has already been begun by Queensland police, the state coroner, and WorkSafe Queensland. In addition, AMSA is investigating why Suzanne Rees was not counted on board at the time of boarding.
“Amsa will make an assessment as to whether there was any non-compliance associated with the passenger not being counted onto the ship and, if necessary, will take action to address them,” – Amsa
The cruise experience had been marketed as an once-in-a-lifetime adventure, with balcony accommodations starting at $86,400 per person. With costs this steep, one has to wonder what’s being done to ensure passengers on these excursions are receiving safe care and attention. Katherine Rees, pictured above, said her mother was abandoned in a critical moment needing help.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb. She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone,” – Katherine Rees
Mark Fifield, President of Landco, said the company’s focus now was on supporting Suzanne Rees’s family through this tragic time.
“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,” – Mark Fifield
Katherine Rees has expressed her resolve to find out what happened on her mother’s fatal excursion. Through a coronial inquiry, she hopes that the truth of her mother’s death will come to light. She doesn’t want to sue, she just wants to understand if anything more could have been done to protect her.
“From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense,” – Katherine Rees
Those investigations continue. Both AMSA and Queensland authorities are currently investigating to ascertain what happened leading up to this tragic incident. The impact of this case should lead to new operating procedures for cruise excursions to ensure similar tragedies don’t happen again.