Chinese woman dies after falling into Congo volcano
Pastor Dale Morgan
Chinese woman dies after falling into Congo volcano*
From correspondents in Kinshasa
July 08, 2007 12:41am
Article from: Reuters
A CHINESE tourist who fell into the crater of a volcano in eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo has died, a scientist at a local research
centre said.
Cecilia Cheng Siuyan climbed over the crater rim of the Nyiragongo
volcano near Congo's border with Rwanda on Friday to take a photo but
slipped and fell more than 100m before coming to rest on a ledge above
the lake of lava.
“She is dead, but they haven't yet been able to remove the body,”
Celestin Kasereka, director of the volcanological observatory in the
nearby city of Goma, told Reuters.
Siuyan initially showed signs of life and continued to move after the fall.
But rescue efforts on Friday were called off due to poor visibility.
A team of 20 Indian peacekeepers from Congo's UN mission along with
volcanologist Jacques Durieux were attempting to retrieve the body.
In 2002, the Nyiragongo volcano sent a river of lava through the centre
of Goma killing dozens.
It is one of troubled eastern Congo's few tourist attractions.