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Aug 22, 2023

Woman Dies After Falling Into Volcanic Ravine

A woman's body has been recovered after she lost her balance while trekking on the slopes of a volcano and fell down a 65 foot ravine. The incident took place at 3:50 p.m. at Lonquimay volcano, Chile,

A woman's body has been recovered after she lost her balance while trekking on the slopes of a volcano and fell down a 65 foot ravine.

The incident took place at 3:50 p.m. at Lonquimay volcano, Chile, on Thursday afternoon, the National Disaster Prevention Service, Senapred, reports.

"One female person died while on an excursion with a family member, suffered a fall and was later lost in the Lonquimay volcano, Malalcahuello National Reserve, Curacautín commune," the service said.

After her fall, the woman's partner raced to alert the staff at the Corralco ski center. Together with local firefighters and police officers, the ski center staff were able to locate and recover her body in the ravine. However, she had already died on impact.

Officials have not released her name or details of the location of the incident.

Lonquimay volcano is located in the Malalcahuello national reserve in the Araucania Region of Chile. The reserve covers and area of 30,200 acres along the southern spine of the Andes.

The volcano is a stratovolcano, the cone-shaped mountains you usually see in cartoons. They are formed of stickier lava that does not flow easily and builds up around the vent, forming volcanoes with steep sides. According to the British Geological Survey, these types of volcanoes are more likely to produce explosive eruptions due to the high levels of gas that build up in their sticky magma.

Lonquimay last erupted on Christmas day in 1988, an eruption that lasted for 13 months and ended in January 1990. According to Volcano Discovery, the eruption caused only one fatality, but 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes and there was extensive damage to the surrounding farmland and property.

The eruption also left a new crater along the flanks of the volcano below the summit which is now known as the Christmas Crater.

The volcano rises 9,399 feet above the fertile foothills below and is a popular destination for snow sports enthusiasts. The summit is also a popular climbing destination. However, it is not for the faint-hearted. The mountain gets its name from the ancient Mapuche inhabitants of the area, translating to the "great ravine" in reference to the wide, 400 feet gorge on its eastern face.

It is unclear whether this was the ravine the late woman fell down.

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