Hiker who fell off volcano trail in Indonesia is found dead, her family says

A Brazilian woman who fell hundreds of feet while hiking on an active volcano in Indonesia and was unreachable for three days was found dead Tuesday, according to her family.

The woman, Juliana Marins, who was in her 20s, was climbing Mount Rinjani with a group, including a guide, when she fell Saturday morning, according to her family.

“With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive,” said a post on an Instagram account set up by Marins’ family to publicize her plight. Rescue workers had been able to reach her Tuesday, according to the post.

Indonesian authorities said Monday that a female Brazilian tourist, whom they did not identify, was on the mountain and had fallen about 1,600 feet. She was motionless, they said, citing drone footage.

On Tuesday, authorities were preparing to send rescuers in a helicopter, equipped with thousands of feet of rope, to reach Marins, said Muhamad Hariyadi, chief of the search and rescue office in the nearby city of Mataram. He described the operation as “very risky.”

Situated on Lombok, the Indonesian island just east of Bali, Mount Rinjani is the country’s second-highest volcano at 12,224 feet. It is popular for its panoramic views of Lombok and the surrounding islands, particularly at sunrise. It also draws tourists eager to see the stunning, deep blue volcanic lake nestled within its caldera, roughly 6,500 feet above sea level.

“We did it for the view,” Marins said in a video that she sent to family members and friends while on her hike. It was later released on the Instagram account.

In another video, a fellow hiker filmed heavy fog that was surrounding the mountain and dozens of tents. That hiker also said, tongue in cheek, that they’d made the climb “for the view.” Marins is seen chuckling.

Members of her family said they learned of her plight through social media and from other tourists. Indonesian rescue workers were initially unprepared and had no proper equipment for reaching her, her sister and a friend had said. They had also accused the Indonesian government of faking a video of her rescue and of falsifying reports that Marins had been given food and water after 17 hours.

Hariyadi denied that his agency had released such information. He said the rescue efforts had been hampered by extreme terrain and foggy weather.

On Tuesday, the rescue helicopter was unable to fly to the top of Mount Rinjani because of the bad weather conditions, according to the Mount Rinjani National Park’s Instagram account.

In earlier videos released by the search and rescue team, people involved in the search said they had seen a glimpse of a light from a flashlight, as well as a hiking pole that they believed was Marins’. They also described poor visibility conditions during rescue efforts Monday.

The Brazilian Embassy in Indonesia said it had been in constant contact with local authorities about Marins.

Hiking websites say that Mount Rinjani requires a substantial level of fitness to ascend it, and that the journey takes about five days. Indonesian authorities say trekkers need to be “thoroughly prepared.” Last month, a Malaysian man died after falling down the mountain. In 2022, it took authorities four days to retrieve the body of a Portuguese trekker.

Marins had been “living her dream, backpacking Southeast Asia,” a friend said in an Instagram post. She had been to the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam as well as Indonesia, the friend said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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