Tourist reveals scary truth about Mount Rinjani in Bali

A British influencer has shared the scary reality of one of Bali’s most popular trails after a woman died at the hotspot.

A British travel blogger has shared the scary reality of one of Bali’s most popular trails after a woman died at the hotspot.

Juliana Marins, 26, from Brazil, was climbing Mount Rinjani on Lombok - the second highest volcano in Indonesia — earlier this month when she fell some 200 metres down the mountainside.

She was close to the summit that sits at an elevation of over 3,000 metres when tragedy unfolded.

An autopsy revealed Ms Marins died from severe trauma to “almost all parts of her body”.

Mt Rinjani is extremely high with deep ravines, extreme temperatures and volcanic gases.

“If people fall while trekking, they can sustain multiple broken bones and traumatic head injuries which are the most dangerous and can be fatal,” Global health expert and medical doctor at YARSI University in Jakarta, Dr Dicky Budiman, told news.com.au.

Brazilian tourist Juliana Marins died after slipping and falling into a ravine while hiking at Indonesia’s Mount Rinjani. Picture: Instagram

“If people survive the initial fall, there are other risks such as poisonous gases and extreme temperatures which can cause asphyxia and hypothermia.”

Jack Arnold, who runs a TikTok account highlighting his travels, recently hiked the trail and said it was a lot tougher than people may think.

“It is the most mentally and physically draining thing I have ever done in my life,” Jack said in a clip that has amassed almost 1 million views.

“It’s pure volcanic sand. You take two steps up … and three steps back,” he said as she showed footage of himself sliding back down.

“I was walking past girls on the floor and they were just like ‘I can’t do it’. They had been separated from their guides. A lot of the guides are like severely under equipped and for lack of a better work, under trained.”

British travel blogger Jack Arnold warned fellow tourists about the dangers of the trail. Picture: TikTok/thearnoldsoutside

Jack, who hiked the volcano with a company called Ali Topan Rinjani, said he was thankful his guide was really good and often checked on each hiker in the group.

“He would come and walk with you and make sure you’re all right.”

“I remember sitting at the point where the girl fell and was thinking if the weather was bad this could be really dangerous.

“There’s long path with a big drop down the side. It’s really, really not an easy hike.”

Jack was shocked to find some people wearing inappropriate shoes and wondered why “it is not advertised more that’s it’s not just a walk in the park”.

He said, while beautiful, it’s a lot harder to trek than people may think. Picture: TikTok/thearnoldsoutside

“People think it’s a really easy hike and it’s just really not. It’s amazing don’t get me wrong but on the way down it’s dark and I was sliding sometimes up to 20 metres.

“It’s like snow, it’s just really fine ash. I was thinking at some point if I slip any further I am going straight over that edge.”

Jack warned anyone interested in doing the hike to do their research.

“Look at what you might need,” he demanded.

“It’s so remote you can’t get cars and motorbikes up there. If you fall, you’ve got to be pretty lucky for somebody to find you.”

He showed himself slipping backwards while trying to hike the trail. Picture: TikTok/thearnoldsoutside

Indonesia cracks down on safety

The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and the National Search and Rescue Authority have pledged to conduct an immediate evaluation of the total standard operating procedures for mountaineering activities nationwide.

It comes following multiple deaths in the past five years at famous peaks including where Ms Marins died, Mount Batur and Mount Agung in Bali.

According to The Bali Sun, the aim is to minimise the risk of accidents and increase safety for climbers, guides, porters, and support staff.

The Head of Basarnas, Mohammad Syafi’i said all efforts made in the search and rescue mission of Ms Marins on Mount Rinjani were in accordance with international standards and that the biggest obstacle the team encountered was extreme weather conditions, which increased the rescue time.

Drones were released to assist in the rescue. Picture: Viral Press

Rescue teams were deployed across the area. Picture: Viral Press

Initially, drone footage shot by passing hikers showed Ms Marins alive having fallen some 200 metres down the mountainside.

In the harrowing video, she is sitting with her legs splayed out beneath her and with dust in her hair from the tumble down the steep slopes.

She appears distressed and disorientated as tourists shout words of encouragement to her.

When rescuers tried to reach Ms Marins by repelling down the mountainside using ropes, they were unable to locate her in the place where she had originally been spotted.

Due to poor weather conditions and difficult terrain, her body was finally discovered much further down the mountain at around 600 metres, several days later.

The last known footage of Ms Marins. Picture: Supplied

As such, it is likely that the blunt force trauma that killed her occurred when she fell for the second time.

Ms Marins’ body was evacuated from Rinjani on Lombok on Wednesday and transported to Bali Mandara Hospital where an autopsy was conducted on Thursday.

Speaking to the media, forensic specialist Dr. Ida Bagus Putu Alit said she died “very quickly from her injuries”.

Mr Syafi’i said in the future, the government hopes to improve the potential SAR capability.

“In the example of a tourist area, it must be able to start from communication. With communication we can assess the potential danger, prepare the personnel and equipment. Our hope, with this limited ability can complement each other”.

The Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, confirmed his commitment to evaluating and improving standard operating procedures on Indonesia’s trekking routes.

He also called for tourists to seriously assess their abilities before heading out on intensive climbs, the national publication reported.

“We will evaluate the total SOP, increase the number of posts on the climbing path, and prepare technology such as RFID that is installed on the climber’s bracelet, so that it can be quickly detected if there is an emergency condition.”

– with Aisyah Llewellyn