An 80-year-old cruise passenger has been found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island, a day after she was accidentally abandoned there by the ship’s crew.

The family of an Australian cruise ship passenger who died after being left alone on a remote Great Barrier Reef island said “failure of care and common sense” led to her death.

Mark Fifield, the chief executive of cruise ship operator Coral Expeditions, confirmed the “tragic death of a passenger on the Coral Adventurer during an excursion”.