Rescuers in Indonesia have located the body of a Brazilian woman who fell off a cliff while hiking Mount Rinjani, following a complex four-day operation hampered by treacherous terrain and poor weather.
Juliana Marins, 27, had been hiking with five friends and a guide on Saturday (21 June) when she slipped during an early morning trek along the steep trail near the crater of the active volcano.
According to Reuters, a team of 50 rescuers finally reached her location on Tuesday (24 June), but by then it was too late.
Prior to her arrival in Indonesia, Ms Marins had been backpacking around Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: @resgatejulianamarins on Instagram
She began her ascent of Mount Rinjani — Indonesia’s second-highest volcano at 3,726m — at around 6.30am local time.
During the climb, the group encountered slippery terrain and poor visibility.
Ms Marins reportedly slipped from “a cliff that surrounds the trail next to the volcano’s crater”, according to authorities.
A fellow hiker described the route as “very hard” with dangerous footing.
Drone footage captured on Saturday showed Ms Marins visibly distressed but alive, sitting and moving on the grey soil far below the hiking path.
Rescuers also reported hearing her cries for help that morning.
Source: Diário do Centro do Mundo
An initial attempt to reach her, when she was located about 150m down the cliff face, was unsuccessful.
By Sunday (22 June), she was no longer in the same spot, and foggy conditions hindered the use of thermal drones and visibility.
Rescue teams later re-identified her on Monday (23 June), but by then she had slipped further to a depth of around 500m.
Continued bad weather and unstable sandy terrain made it too dangerous to proceed.
On Tuesday, 50 members of the Indonesian search and rescue team descended 600m into a ravine and located Ms Marins’ body.
However, poor weather conditions once again prevented them from retrieving her remains.
Retrieval efforts were expected to resume this morning (25 June).
In a statement posted on social media, Ms Marins’ family confirmed her death, writing: “With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive. We remain very grateful for all the prayers, messages of affection and support that we have received.”
Indonesian authorities said the Mount Rinjani hiking trail would be temporarily closed to facilitate the evacuation and out of respect for the victim and her family.
Also read: 2 S’poreans get lost while climbing mountain in Langkawi, found in less than 3 hours
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Featured image adapted from @resgatejulianamarins on Instagram and Diário do Centro do Mundo.