Brazilian who fell on volcano in Indonesia found dead, family says

By Ana Pastana – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Brazilian citizen Juliana Marins, 26 years old, who fell off a cliff while hiking Mount Rinjani in Indonesia, was found dead, her family said in a statement published on Instagram on the morning of Tuesday, the 24th. The advertising professional fell in the early hours of last Friday, the 20th, on one of the most dangerous sections of the route to the volcano’s summit.

The statement said that “today, the rescue team managed to reach the location where Juliana Marins was,” but she “did not survive.” On Tuesday, a rescue team with 50 volunteers had begun the search for the Brazilian, who was about 500 meters below the crater rim, making access by ropes difficult.

“Today, the rescue team managed to reach the location where Juliana Marins was. With immense sadness, we inform you that she did not survive. We remain very grateful for all the prayers, kind messages, and support we have received,” the statement read.

Juliana Marins was an advertising professional, 26 years old, from Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, and had been backpacking through Asia since the end of February this year. The young woman fell during a guided hike on Mount Rinjani, located on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, in the early hours of Saturday, the 21st.

The hike to the volcano was scheduled to last three days and two nights, from June 20 to 22, and had been arranged with a local agency, according to Juliana’s sister, Marina Marins.

The first contact with rescuers took place on Saturday, after she had been stranded 300 meters off the trail for 16 hours, when a team of mountaineers managed to reach her with food and warm clothing. In the first two days, drones with thermal sensors were unable to locate Juliana. Only on the morning of Monday, the 23rd, was she found. Her body temperature showed that she was still alive, but she remained motionless.

Juliana’s sister was the one relaying updated information through messages from the Brazilian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. On Sunday, the 22nd, she reported that the search would resume. “The region is inhospitable, it’s nighttime, it rained, so the rescue operation has not taken place yet,” she said.

On Monday, the 24th, the family used Instagram to express frustration over the lack of concrete information and the slow pace of rescue efforts by Indonesian authorities. According to the family, the rescue efforts had been suspended for about three hours late in the afternoon local time due to unfavorable weather conditions. Additionally, relatives reported that the rescue teams did not operate at night.

Juliana’s sister stated that the family had been receiving conflicting information from the Indonesian government. During the early hours of Tuesday, the family’s Instagram account announced that she had been located and that a rescue team was en route to the site.

“The park remains open as usual, tourists continue the hike while Juliana is in need of rescue. We don’t know her condition—she has been without water, food, or warm clothes for three days!!!” the family posted on social media. “Juliana will spend another night without rescue due to negligence!”

According to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarna), the delay in starting the search and rescue operations on Saturday was due to the fact that teams were only alerted after a member of Juliana’s group managed to hike down to a station—a journey that took several hours. In addition, it took more time for rescuers to climb back up to the area.

A helicopter was sent to the region along with a special rescue unit from Basarna. Weather and geographic conditions also significantly hindered the rescue efforts, according to the agency.

Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves