A 26-year-old Brazilian woman who fell from a cliff while hiking an Indonesian volcano was found dead Tuesday, following a four-day search hampered by dangerous weather and terrain, according to statements from Brazilian and Indonesian authorities.
Juliana Marins was trekking Mount Rinjani, an active 12,224-foot volcano on the island of Lombok, with a guide and five other foreigners on Saturday when she slipped and plunged down a steep cliff, Indonesian officials said. The volcano, located in West Nusa Tenggara province, is a popular destination for international hikers and tourists.
“After four days of work, hindered by adverse weather, terrain, and visibility conditions in the region, teams from Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency found the body of the Brazilian tourist,” Brazil’s government said.
Head of local rescuers Muhammad Hariyadi said that Marins fell off a cliff on the mountain, but not into the volcano crater, while noting that the soft sand in the area made it difficult to retrieve her using ropes.
Fifty people participated in the operation, which used a thermal drone to eventually spot Marins’ body, Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency. Syafii explained that Marins was initially located at a depth of 150 meters on Saturday, but shifting sand caused her to slip further down the cliff face, reaching 500 meters by Monday morning.
Rescue Turns to Recovery
Marins' ordeal riveted her home country, Brazil, with millions following the dramatic search-and-rescue efforts since news broke of her fall.Authorities did not say when exactly she died.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry called Marins’ death a tragedy and said its embassy in Jakarta had worked closely with Indonesian authorities throughout the rescue efforts.
Marins’ family confirmed her death and, in an Instagram post, thanked Brazilians for their prayers and support during the ordeal.
The incident also sparked controversy after Brazil’s embassy in Jakarta accused Indonesian officials of providing false information to Marins’ family, claiming she had been located and given food and water hours after her fall.
Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said the Mount Rinjani hiking track was closed to facilitate the evacuation and as a mark of respect to Marins and her family.
Marins, a dancer from Niteroi near Rio de Janeiro, had been travelling across Asia since February, visiting the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand before arriving in Indonesia, her family said.
Local media reports note that several tourists, including a Malaysian hiker last month, have died in similar accidents on the volcano in recent years.