NITEROI, Brazil – A Brazilian hiker who died after falling from the ridge of a volcano in Indonesia was buried on Friday in Rio de Janeiro state.
Juliana Marins’ body arrived in Brazil on Tuesday, a week after authorities confirmed her death. Her family has accused Indonesian authorities of negligence and delays in the rescue and repatriation process.
On June 21, the 26-year-old tourist began summiting on Mount Rinjani, an active 3,726-meter (12,224-foot) volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok, with a guide and five other foreigners, when she fell about 600 meters (nearly 2,000 feet), Indonesian authorities said.
Indonesian rescuers retrieved her body on June 25. Authorities confirmed her death on Tuesday after the rescuers reached and examined the body, which was found using a thermal drone after four days of intensive searches complicated by terrain and weather. The retrieval took at least five hours because of the rocky and steep terrain and foggy weather.
Millions of people in Brazil followed the rescue efforts. Indonesian authorities and the rescuer team met with Marins’ family to explain the process.
Mount Rinjani, Indonesia’s second-tallest peak, is a popular destination for trekkers.
Manoel Marins, the hiker’s father, told reporters at the burial in her hometown of Niteroi that what happened to his daughter was “a matter of disregard for human life,” blaming what he called Indonesia’s “precarious public services.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a tourist destination — known worldwide, a country that depends on tourism to survive,” he said. “It should have better infrastructure, better resources to rescue people.”
AP
