Investigators have boarded an Australian Cruise ship, more than 10 days after the death of an elderly female passenger stranded on a remote island.
Suzanne Rees, 80, was hiking on lizard island with a fellow patient from Coral Adventurer, but broke away from the group for a break.
The ship left without him, only returning a few hours later when the crew learned the MS Rees was missing.
Officials from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) boarded the vessel on Wednesday morning Local Time.
The organization, which is investigating the incident, along with the Queensland Police and the State Coroner, told the BBC that it could not comment on the investigation.
The Coral Adventurer is expected to install cairns – where the reef operators are based.
But a lack of available berths meant it dropped anchor a few kilometers north on Tuesday night, where it remained on Wednesday morning.
The BBC only understood a skeleton of a skull.
The ship’s tracking data showed one of the ship’s small boats, known as a tender, moving between the ship and the shore on Tuesday night.
All passengers disembarked on Horn Island in far north Queensland at the weekend and were transferred to the mainland on a charter plane.
A 60-day cruise around Australia, which cost guests tens of thousands of dollars, was canceled due to issues with the MS Rees.
The Coral Adventurer accommodates up to 120 guests with a crew of 46, according to the company’s website. It is purpose built to access remote areas of the Australian coast.
Tracking data shows the ship first left cairns around 07:30 local time on October 24 – after a week’s delay due to mechanical issues.
The next day it reached Lizard Island – also known as Jiigurru or Dyiigurra – in the northern area of the famous Barrier Reef for the first stop of the journey.
Passengers on board are taken by tender to the remote island – home to a luxury resort and a research station – for a day trip with the option of hiking or snorkelling.
Suzanne Rees’ daughter, Katherine Rees, said last week that her family were “shocked and saddened that the corral adventurer left the lizard island without my mum”.
He described his mother, who is from Sydney, as an “active 80-year-old” member of a bushwalking group.
“From the little we are told, there seems to be a failure of care and common sense.”
Ms Rees added that she hoped the coroner’s inquest would be able to determine what “the company should have done that could have saved Mum’s life”.
“We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum got sick on the hill going up,” he said.
“He was asked to go where he was going, there was no storm. Then the ship left, apparently without making a passenger count.
“At some stage in that sequence, or soon after, Mom died, alone.”
A search and rescue effort later on Saturday 25 October – the day she went missing – failed to find any sign of MS Rees. His body was discovered the next day.
Last week Mark Mark Sily, the Chief Executive of Cruise Operator Coral Expeditions, confirmed that the company is “working well with the Queensland police and other authorities to support their investigation”.
Mr Fimeld said the company was “very progressive that this happened” and offered its full support to the Rees family.