DENPASAR: An Australian woman has died after falling from an 80-metre cliff at Bali’s iconic Kelingking Beach on Nusa Penida island, Klungkung regency, over the weekend.
The victim, identified as 29-year-old Brianna Lani Cronin, was believed to have been looking for an independent route to the edge of the cliff when she slipped into a ravine at around 8am on Saturday (Sept 12), according to authorities.
Klungkung police spokesperson First Insp I Dewa Nyoman Alit Purnawibawa said that a visitor who witnessed the incident immediately alerted a lifeguard at Kelingking Beach.
“After receiving the information, the lifeguard went to check the location and found a foreign national on the southern section of the cliff,” Purnawibawa said on Saturday as quoted by Tribunnews.com.
“However, the lifeguard found Cronin in an area that was difficult to reach and sought assistance from colleagues to help with the rescue operation. While rescuers were arranging assistance, Cronin fell again from the cliff, landing near the shoreline,” he added.
A joint search and rescue operation was then launched to evacuate Cronin from the beach, involving the Indonesian Navy, police, the Bali Search and Rescue Agency, lifeguards and local residents.
Cakra Negara of the Bali Search and Rescue Agency said the steep and narrow access route made the evacuation more difficult for the rescue team. Cakra said an initial plan to evacuate Cronin by sea was abandoned because of relatively high waves along the shoreline. Rescuers instead carried her up the stairs at Kelingking Beach.
“The victim was eventually brought to the top of the cliff after an operation that lasted about 1.5 hours,” he said. When rescuers reached Cronin, she was unconscious and had sustained fractures to her left arm and leg, a laceration to her right leg, and multiple abrasions across her body from contact with rocks along the cliff, authorities said.
She was evacuated by ambulance to Griya Penida Clinic, where she was pronounced dead.
Nusa Penida police chief Comr. I Ketut Kesuma Jaya said Cronin’s remains were then transported at Gema Santi Hospital in Nusa Penida pending repatriation, while the Australian consulate worked to contact her family.
Police said Cronin had travelled to Nusa Penida alone and arrived around Sept 10, staying at a hotel in Ped village.
A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government was providing consular assistance to Cronin’s family, NewsWire reported.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time. Owing to our privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further comment,” the spokesperson said.
Kelingking Beach is a popular tourist destination where visitors regularly hike along the cliffs or trek down to the beach. The descent can take up to two hours and the trail has been described as perilous.
On July 17, 2024, 17-year-old Chinese tourist Ruitao Xiao was seriously injured after slipping and falling while walking along the cliffs at Kelingking Beach. Three days earlier, another Chinese tourist, 19-year-old Chen Peiyuan, was involved in a similar incident at the same location. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
