Chinese woman posing for photo dies after fall from edge of crater on Indonesian volcano

Police says tourists were on guided tour of volcano at the time of deadly fall

A Chinese woman died after and falling off the edge of a crater while posing for a photo on an Indonesian volcano known for its popular “blue fire” phenomenon.

Huang Lihong, 31, and her husband Zhang Yong were in the East Java province on a guided tour when the incident took place. The duo, in their bid to watch the sunrise, had climbed to the edge of the crater of Ijen – a volcano tourism park in the region, reported Hongxing News.

According to the police, she plummeted from a height of 75m and died from the impact of her fall. The death has been marked as an accident, police officials said.

Initially, she was maintaining a safe distance of two to three metres away from the edge of the cliff while taking the photos, the tour guide said.

He added that he had warned the couple about the dangerous points.

However, Lihong then started moving backwards to take a photo closer to a tree for a backdrop of bare straggly branches, the guide said.

She accidentally stepped on her long and flowing clothing while walking backwards, causing her to fall off the cliff, according to reports.

It is not immediately clear if she was wearing a skirt or a dress.

The Ijen volcano is known for its “blue fire” caused by the blue light emitted from the combustion of sulfuric gases.

In 2018, scores of people were forced to evacuate their homes and at least 30 people were hospitalised after the volcano started to emit toxic gases.

Mount Ijen regularly releases small amounts of noxious gases but the site stays open to the public.

Indonesia is home to around 130 active volcanoes. Millions of Indonesians live and work near volcanoes, largely because of the fertile farming soil.