80 year old woman dies after being left behind

[Jazzy1]

An 80-year-old cruise passenger in Australia was discovered dead after the ship left her behind on a tropical island, in what her family calls a "failure of care."

The woman was traveling alone on a 60-day, $52k voyage circumnavigating Australia aboard the NRMA-owned Coral Expeditions cruise ship when disaster occurred. A multi-agency investigation has been launched to determine how and why she was reportedly abandoned.

According to reports, Suzanne Rees, 80, was visiting the island a tour with the rest of the passengers when she didn't feel well. An employee told her to descend the mountain, unaccompanied. When she didn't make it back on the boat, no one noticed for hours.

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Hope the family sue the cruise company because the whole thing screams incompetence (who sends an ill elderly passenger to go down alone, which makes me wonder if there's only 1 person from the cruise during the hike) if they actually do a count, this wouldn’t happen.

What do you think?

 

[Aunt Bea]

It seems to me that there must be more to this story.

 

[IrishEyes]

Apologies and words of support should not be all they need to come up with.
They should maybe cancel any upcoming cruises until they prove they have
enough staff and a fool proof method of communication and training for emergencies
among staff; on and off land.

 

[Warrigal]

An 80-year-old cruise passenger in Australia was discovered dead after the ship left her behind on a tropical island, in what her family calls a "failure of care."

The woman was traveling alone on a 60-day, $52k voyage circumnavigating Australia aboard the NRMA-owned Coral Expeditions cruise ship when disaster occurred. A multi-agency investigation has been launched to determine how and why she was reportedly abandoned.

According to reports, Suzanne Rees, 80, was visiting the island a tour with the rest of the passengers when she didn't feel well. An employee told her to descend the mountain, unaccompanied. When she didn't make it back on the boat, no one noticed for hours.

Continue reading article

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Hope the family sue the cruise company because the whole thing screams incompetence (who sends an ill elderly passenger to go down alone, which makes me wonder if there's only 1 person from the cruise during the hike) if they actually do a count, this wouldn’t happen.

What do you think?

I have two thoughts.

One is that after several incidents where cruise passengers were left behind while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef you would think that accounting for everyone before leaving to go back to the ship would be second nature. Every teacher who takes children out on an excursion knows to count heads frequently and to call the roll at regular intervals.

My other thought is that allowing her to descend alone while feeling sick is tantamount to criminal.

I agree that just one escort is insufficient. $52K should be enough to allow for more staff in attendance.

 

[hearlady]

Just....so....sad. And maddening.

 

[Della]

If someone was feeling ill and you had to send her down alone because you couldn't leave the group, wouldn't you be checking on her the minute you got back down? I'm also surprised that no one in the group offered to go down with her.

Someone under the article commented, "poor life choices have poor consequences." I'm seeing that more and more. People are excusing themselves from feeling sympathy with that phrase, and it doesn't speak well for our world.

 

[WheatenLover]

Someone under the article commented, "poor life choices have poor consequences." I'm seeing that more and more. People are excusing themselves from feeling sympathy with that phrase, and it doesn't speak well for our world.

Those crappy people are living under the delusion that they have control over their lives, and that they are not human like the rest of us are.

I don't think the lady made a poor choice. She wasn't feeling well and had to go back to the ship. It isn't her fault that the cruise line was terribly irresponsible.

 

[Trish]

Horrible to think of Suzanne Rees being left to fend for herself. Surely the guide could have at least contacted the ship to request that another member of staff attend to help Suzanne and make sure she got back to the ship safely or, if necessary, summon medical help? I really can't imagine how anyone could just leave her there without assistance.