15 hours ago
Body of Brazilian tourist who fell off volcano cliff recovered
Rescuers finally recovered the body of a Brazilian hiker who had fallen off the cliff and died while hiking on Indonesia's second-highest volcano, rescue officials said. 27 year old Juliana Marins was hiking with her five friends on Mount Rinjani on Saturday when she slipped and fell off a cliff on the side of the 3,726-metre (12,224 feet) mountain. Initially, the rescuers planned on using a helicopter for the evacuation but it was not possible due to the weather conditions(AFP)
Following this she was found dead on Tuesday but the rescuers were not able to retrieve the body. Despite multiple attempts of search and rescue the difficult terrain and dense fog made it difficult to rescue Marins.
After six hours of intensive retrieval process, her body was recovered late on Wednesday, said Mohammad Syafii, the head of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency. The body was found near a crater using the thermal drone technology after four days of relentless searches. The body was then lifted off the cliff and carried to a stretcher to the rescuers after which an ambulance took it to a hospital. Initially, the rescuers planned on using a helicopter for the evacuation but it was not possible due to the weather conditions, said Syafii. "So, we had to evacuate the victim on stretchers which took quite a long time."
Footage shared by Indonesia's rescuers agency showed rescuers attempting to lift the body from the cliff using ropes, overshadowed by thick fog. Meanwhile, Marins's family met the rescuers who explained how the evacuation will take place, Syafii said, adding the family "can accept the situation".
Mount Rinjani is an active volcano and a popular tourist destination, located in West Nusa Tenggara province. According to local media reports, several tourists, including foreigners, have died in accidents while hiking the volcano over the past few years, including a Malaysian tourist who also fell off a cliff last month.
(With Reuters Inputs)
