Tourist dies after falling into volcanic crater in Indonesia
Published: Tuesday, Apr 23rd 2024, 12:40
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A Chinese woman has fallen from the edge of a volcanic crater in the province of East Java in Indonesia and died. She had become entangled in her dress.
The 31-year-old died instantly after falling from a height of 75 meters into the acidic crater lake, Indonesian media reported on Tuesday, citing the authorities.
The woman was on a guided tour with her husband on Saturday when she wanted to pose for a photo on the edge of the crater at sunrise, as the news site "Kompas.com" wrote, citing the tour guide. She initially kept a safe distance, but then moved backwards towards a tree despite all the warnings in order to have a nicer background for the photo. Suddenly she tripped and fell into the depths.
It took several hours to recover the body, according to reports. According to media reports, the local tourism authorities are now considering a partial ban on photography in the region. "The accident must be a lesson to everyone," said Dwi Sugiharto, an official from the local nature conservation authority. All visitors must be extremely careful when climbing the volcano.
The approximately 2,700-metre-high Ijen is known for its "blue fire": due to its special underground activity, there is no red-hot lava here - instead, bright blue flames rise up. A blue river of lava also flows down the slopes. Sulphur is also extracted from the volcano under extremely dangerous conditions.
The fire mountain regularly emits small amounts of harmful gases, but is accessible to visitors most of the time.
In February, a Polish tourist was found dead during a hike on the volcano. In 2015, a tourist from Switzerland collapsed while climbing Ijen and died after complaining of breathing difficulties.
The world's largest island nation, Indonesia, lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire and has around 130 active volcanoes.
©Keystone/SDA
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