Allegedly Cold, Climber From Depok Found Dead On Mount Gede Pangrango

The entrance to Mount Gede-Pangrango in Cianjur Regency, West Java. (BETWEEN PHOTO)

CIANJUR - The Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park Center (BBTNGGP) stated that a climber from Depok City was found dead, presumably due to cold due to extreme weather at the peak of Mount Gede, Cianjur Regency, West Java.

The victim was then found after volunteers received reports of missing climbers and conducted a search.

Head of Division I PTN Region I Cianjur BBTNGGP Diah Qurani Kristina said the climber on behalf of Doni (45) was reported missing when the group that left with the victim did not find him after arriving at the bottom.

"The group from Depok made the climb without staying overnight, when they came back down they did not find any victims, so they reported the matter to TNGGP Cibodas. We and the group assisted by TNGGP volunteers immediately conducted a search by combing the hiking trails," he said when contacted in Cianjur, Antara, Monday, March 14.

Approaching the peak of Mount Gede, he said, the victim's body was found lying lifeless and immediately brought down. After undergoing an examination, the victim's body was then handed over to the family.

He explained that the group of climbers from Depok had previously undergone examinations in accordance with applicable procedures including health checks so that they were allowed to climb. However, his party has not been able to determine the cause of Doni's death.

"It is only suspected that the victim died of cold, but we cannot confirm it because the family has brought the victim's body to be buried in his hometown in Depok," said Diah Qurani Kristina.

TNGGP volunteer Zaini Kawat said his party immediately conducted a search after receiving a report from a group from Depok who made the climb without staying overnight.

The joint team found the victim's body in a supine position several hundred meters before the top of the mountain.

"The victim was found about 15 minutes before the peak of Gede, we suspect the victim was cold. The victim's body was immediately evacuated to the bottom and was taken to the Cimacan Hospital," said Zaini Kawat.