Missing hiker found dead on Indonesian mountain after two weeks

Doctors say signs of fracture in left thigh suggest hiker fell to death

File. A woman prays in Brebes town in Indonesia's Java province with Mount Slamet in the background (AFP via Getty)

A hiker who went missing on Mount Slamet in Indonesia was found dead last week, ending a 16-day search operation.

Syafiq Ridhan Ali Razan was reported missing on 30 December and his body was found on 14 January.

The Goeteng Taroenadibrata General Hospital in Purbalingga, central Java, said that, given the rate of decomposition, the hiker had likely died two weeks before the body was located.

Signs of fracture in his left thigh suggest that Ali Razan fell to his death, according to the hospital.

Budiono, head of the search and rescue office in Semarang, said last week Ali Razan’s body was not found on the ascending route he had taken with his friend. The duo had started their hike from the Dipajaya basecamp in Pemalang regency on 27 December.

The body was recovered at about 10.49am local time near post 9 of the hiking trail, at the base of a slope on Mount Slamet’s southern flank.

Thick fog and poor weather in the area prevented an immediate evacuation after the body was found, with rescue teams able to move it only the following morning.

The body was evacuated from a 20m ravine and brought to the Mount Malang basecamp at about 2.30pm local time on Thursday.

“The body was still intact when found so it was easy for identification,” Budiman said, according to The Star.

“Goeteng Taroenadibrata General Hospital will announce the cause of death," he had said at the time.

Ali Razan and his companion, Himawan Haidar Bahran, were last together on 28 December when they stopped at post 5 after the latter suffered a cramp and was unable to continue.

Ali Razan decided to go down for help and asked his friend to wait at the post. He never returned.

Mr Haidar Bahran eventually climbed to post 9, at an altitude of 3,183m, leaving only 300-600m to the summit, and stayed there until the morning of 30 December when a team of volunteers found him. He was eventually escorted to safety.

Ali Razan's corpse was found not far from where his friend had been holding out, local media reported.