The search for a woman who fell from a P&O Cruise ship has been called off.
The passenger went overboard from the Brisbane-bound Pacific Dawn about 16:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Thursday, in the Coral Sea about 186 miles west of New Caledonia.
The ship turned around immediately to search for the woman but Australian maritime authorities decided to end the search at around 07:30 Friday.
"The difficult decision to suspend the search was made only after expert advice that survival after this length of time in difficult sea conditions and after a full night at sea was not considered possible," said a P&O Cruises spokesman.
The rescue effort was hampered by challenging conditions.
According to local reports, the woman had appeared to be suffering from seasickness before she fell from the vessel in rough seas.
The ship was on a week-long cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia and has now resumed its course for Brisbane.
