Tourist, 31, dies after plummeting 250ft into VOLCANO while her husband was taking a picture on crater’s rim
The couple were on a romantic tour to watch the sunrise from the volcano
A TOURIST has died after plunging 250 feet into an active volcano as she posed on the crater’s rim.
The victim, 31-year-old Chinese national Huang Lihong, tumbled into the Ijen Crater in Banyuwangi, Indonesia, as her horrified husband took a picture.
She stumbled and fell on April 20 after catching her clothing on the rock face and disappeared down the crater, it is understood.
She and her husband Zhang Yong had climbed the slope with a local guide so they could watch the sunrise from the volcano‘s rim, local media reports.
But as Lihong posed for the snaps she tripped and ended up tumbling backwards over the edge.
One photo released after the fall shows Lihong posing on what appears to be the rim of the volcano with one leg raised and whisps of steam and sulphur gas rising behind her.
She fell 75 metres (250 feet) into the mouth of the volcano and it took rescuers more than two hours to retrieve her body, according to local reports.
Dwi Putro Sugiarto, the head of the Department of Conservation for the Banyuwangi region, told local media that her fall was an accident and that tourists should always remain safe while scaling Mount Ijen.
Her body is scheduled to be transported to Bali before it is taken by air back to China, reports say.
Mount Ijen is part of a group of volcanoes on the border between Banyuwangi and Bondowoso in East Java.
They are known for their blue fire, which is an effect created by sulphuric gas emanating from the crater and igniting and burning.
