JAKARTA – Indonesian rescuers have recovered the body of a Brazilian woman who died after falling off a cliff while hiking on Indonesia’s second-highest volcano, rescue officials said.
Ms Juliana Marins, 27, was hiking with five friends on Mount Rinjani on June 21 when she slipped and fell off a cliff on the side of the 3,726m mountain.
She was found dead on June 24, Indonesian rescuers said, after which attempts to retrieve the body were hampered by thick fog and the steep terrain.
The body was recovered on June 25 in a retrieval process that took six hours, Mr Mohammad Syafii, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said late on June 25.
After being lifted from the cliff, Ms Marins’ body was carried on a stretcher to the rescuers’ nearest post where an ambulance transported it to a hospital.
“Initially, we (wanted) to use a helicopter in the evacuation but it was not possible due to the weather condition,” Mr Syafii said. “So, we had to evacuate the victim on stretcher, which took quite a long time.”
Footage shared by the agency showed rescuers attempting to lift the body from the cliff using ropes, blanketed by thick fog.
Indonesia’s rescue agency has met the family of Ms Marins to explain the evacuation process, Mr Syafii said, adding that the family “can accept the situation”.
Located in West Nusa Tenggara province, Mount Rinjani is an active volcano and a popular tourist site in the South-east Asian archipelago.
Several tourists, including foreigners, have died in accidents while hiking at the volcano over the past few years, local media reported, including a Malaysian tourist who also fell off a cliff in May. REUTERS
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