In the early hours of Saturday morning, June 21, 26-year-old Juliana Marins reportedly fell from a cliff near Cemara Nunggal while making her way toward the summit of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia. The volcano remains active, with its most recent eruption happening back in 2016.
Juliana had been hiking with a guide when the tragic accident happened. She had apparently asked to take a break, but the rest of the group continued moving ahead without her. By the time the guide came back, Juliana had already fallen from the cliff’s edge.
Tereza Cristina, who serves as a member of the Brazilian Federal Senate, posted on Twitter: “The entire Brazil cheered and prayed that the rescue would arrive in time to save the young woman from Niterói, Juliana Marins, alive. Unfortunately, they could not save her. Very sad.”
“Our condolences to her family and friends.”
Juliana’s family also posted on social media to share the heartbreaking news and confirm that she had passed away.
The message said: “Today, the rescue team managed to reach the place where Juliana Marins was. With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive.”
Marianna, Juliana’s sister, had earlier said that Juliana became disoriented after losing sight of her guide and didn’t know what direction to go.
“She didn’t know what to do. When the guide came back because he saw that she was taking too long, he saw that she had fallen down there.” the sister explained.
Before officials confirmed Juliana’s death, Gunung Rinjani National Park released a statement on Facebook. They shared that she had been spotted by drone footage, trapped on a rock cliff around 500 meters deep, and appeared unmoving.
Eventually, the rescue operation had to be called off due to worsening weather, which made it impossible to continue safely.