26-Year-Old Tourist Dies After Falling Off Volcano, Family Says Rescue Teams Didn’t Do Enough To Save Her

The family of a tourist is seeking justice after accusing an Indonesian rescue team of failing their relative after a two-part fall off a 12,000-foot active volcano. According to People, on June 21, Brazilian native Juliana Marins, who was 26 years old, was on a volcano hike of Mount Rinjani with others and a tour guide around 6:30 a.m. when she accidentally fell from a ledge.

Was enough done to save Juliana Marins after she fell off a volcano?

In a recent post uploaded to the Instagram profile dedicated to Marins on June 25, her family members posted a joint statement in Spanish to announce they’re leaning toward taking action against the Gunung Rinjani National Park’s search and rescue team that led the search procedure for her after learning specific details regarding her death. They think she would still be alive if more effort had been made to reach her.

“Juliana suffered great negligence on the part of the rescue team,” the family posted on June 25, as translated by People via Black Enterprise. “If the team had reached her within the estimated time of 7 hours, Juliana would still be alive.”

“Juliana deserved much more!” they said to conclude the statement. “Now we are going to seek justice for her because that is what she deserves! Don’t give up on Juliana!”

Dangerous weather conditions reportedly delayed attempts to rescue Juliana Marins

Drone footage captured after the incident showed Marins still moving, sparking hope in her family and those following the story that she could be rescued in time, given her survival of the fall. However, worsening weather conditions forced search crews to delay their efforts. When the team returned to the location where she was first spotted, they found the victim had fallen nearly 1,600 feet deeper into the volcano’s crater. 

“Two rescue personnel were deployed to reach the victim’s location and check the second anchor point at a depth of 350m (1,140 ft),” a statement posted to Gunung Rinjani National Park’s Facebook page on June 23, People reported. “However, after observation, two large overhangs were found before reaching the victim, making it impossible to install the anchor. The rescue team had to climb to reach the victim.”

By the time additional drones were deployed, Marins had become unresponsive. Her body was eventually recovered four days after the initial fall by the search and rescue team, leading her relatives to confirm her death.

The exact cause of Marins’ death has yet to be determined by Indonesian officials.