A Brazilian tourist who fell hundreds of feet near an active volcano in Indonesia has been found dead after a four-day search and rescue effort.
Juliana Marins, 26, was climbing Mount Rinjani with a group led by a tour guide when she slipped and fell off a cliff on the side of the mountain near Indonesia’s second-highest volcano on June 21.
Indonesian rescue workers were finally able to reach Marins’ body on June 24, according to the BBC.
“With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive,” Marins’ family said in a statement on social media. “We remain very grateful for all the prayers, messages of affection and support that we have received.”
Brazil’s government also confirmed that Marins was found dead, following days of rescue efforts that were hampered by challenging weather conditions.
“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,” it said in a statement, according to Reuters.
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Indonesian authorities said Monday that Marins was on the mountain and had fallen about 1,600 feet. She appeared motionless, according to drone footage.
Marins’ sister, Marianna, told Brazilian outlet Fantástico that her sister was abandoned by her tour guide on the trail more than an hour before she fell.
By Tuesday, authorities said they were preparing to send rescuers in a helicopter to reach Marins, according to Muhamad Hariyadi, the head of the search and rescue office in the city of Mataram.
Hariyadi called the rescue operations “very risky” and noted that Marins fell off a cliff on the mountain and not into the volcano crater. Hariyadi said that the soft sand in the area made it difficult to retrieve Marins using ropes.
Hariyadi said Marins, who was initially located on Saturday, had slipped further on the sandy terrain of the cliff face. She was at a depth of 150 metres when first discovered, but had slipped to 500 metres by Monday morning.
“One of the rescuers managed to reach the victim at the depth of 600 metres, upon checking there were no signs of life,” he told reporters.
Hariyadi said that three rescuers got closer to Marins and confirmed she had died.
Efforts to retrieve Marins’ body are due to resume early Wednesday morning.
Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said in a statement that the Mount Rinjani hiking trail would be closed to ease the evacuation effort and out of respect to Marins and her family.
Several tourists have died in accidents while hiking the volcano over the past few years, according to local media reports, including a Malaysian tourist who also fell off a cliff last month.
— With files from Reuters
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