It took almost 2 hours for rescuers to retrieve Ms Lihong’s body. (Representative picture)
A 31-year-old Chinese woman has died after falling over the edge of a crater while taking photographs on an Indonesian volcano known for its famous “blue fire” phenomenon. Accordingly New York Post, the woman, identified as Huang Lihong, was on a guided tour with her husband when the incident happened on Saturday. The couple, in their attempt to watch the sunrise, had climbed to the crater rim of Ijen – a volcano tourism park in the area – police said.
According to the police, the woman fell from a height of 75 meters and died due to the fall. The death is marked as an accident, per the post.
The tour guild later told authorities that Ms Lihong kept a safe distance from the crater rim after being repeatedly warned about the dangers while taking photographs. However, she then started walking backwards to inch closer and then accidentally stepped on her long robes, tripping and falling into the mouth of the volcano. It is not clear whether the 31-year-old was wearing a skirt or a dress.
According to officials, it took rescue workers about 2 hours to recover Miss Lihong’s body.
In particular, the Ijen volcano is known for its “blue fire” due to the blue light emitted from the combustion of sulfurous gases. Accordingly independent, in 2018, many people were forced to evacuate their homes and at least 30 people were hospitalized after the volcano released toxic gases. Mount Ijen regularly emits small amounts of noxious gases but the site remains open to the public.
Indonesia is home to about 130 active volcanoes. Recently, a remote Indonesian volcano sent a tower of ash into the sky, after about half a dozen eruptions forced thousands to evacuate as molten rock rained down on their villages. Mount Ruang in the outermost region of Indonesia’s North Sulawesi began erupting on April 16, spewing a spectacular mix of fiery orange lava, a towering ash column and volcanic lightning. The eruption sent a plume of smoke 400 meters (1,312 feet) above the summit, the country’s volcanology agency said.