Juliana Marins lived a life full of adventure. The 26-year-old dancer was known for posting her traveling expeditions online, and after backpacking in Thailand and Vietnam, she hoped to take on one of Indonesia's greatest feats: hiking up Mount Rinjani. But her trip was cut short after she met a tragic fate.
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On Instagram, she wrote, "going on a long trip alone means that the feeling will always be more intense and unpredictable than we are used to. and it's okay. never felt so alive." Three weeks later, her adventures spirit cost her life.
The 26-year-old from Brazil set out with a group of friends and a tour guide on Saturday (June 21) morning to hike near the center of Indonesia's second tallest volcano, according to CBS News. The terrain of the active volcano was slippery and difficult to see, one of the group members later told Brazilian TV.
But suddenly, Marins slipped and fell 500 feet off a cliff near the volcano. She survived the fall, and rescue team was soon sent out. Drone footage was able to capture the Brazilian moving around but still in distress. The footage quickly went viral, but unfortunately, this was not the end.
Rescuers attempted to reach her for several days, but the mission was ultimately slowed down because of harsh weather conditions in the area, according to Indonesian authorities. When they finally reached where Marins was initially located, she had slipped further down into the crater, nearly 1,600 feet, BBC reported.
Due to weather, the weekend search soon turned into a Tuesday mission to find the 26-year-old. Not to mention, the head of the local rescuers, Muhammad Hariyadi, said Marins was trapped on soft sand, making the rescue effort even more difficult.
But by the time they sent more drones to try to find her, she was completely unresponsive, having gone without water or food for at least three days. Her family made the tragic announcement on an X page, where updates on Marins were posted, although it is unclear exactly when she died.
"With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive," Marins' family wrote. "We remain very grateful for all the prayers, messages of affection and support that we have received." The 26-year-old had reportedly been backpacking in Vietnam and Thailand before reaching Indonesia, according to her Instagram. But although her tragic death quickly flooded international news, Marins' family posed more concerns about the circumstances of her death.
They claimed the park remained open to tourists all "while Juliana is NEEDING HELP! We don't know the state of her health! She still has no water, food or warm clothes for three days," they said, according to BBC. Marins' sister also accused the hiking tour guide of "abandoning" her after her fall, according to the Daily Beast.
Brazil’s embassy in Jakarta also accused the Indonesian government of lying about details to Marins’ rescue, according to CNN. Specifically, the embassy said the government told Marins' family she had been located and given food and water hours after her fall. Now a formal investigation is underway to hash out the discrepancies.
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, released a statement on X saying, "I want to express my solidarity with her family – a solidarity that, I am certain, is also shared by the entire Brazilian people. May God comfort their hearts."
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