An eighteen-year old student who fell off a sea cliff in Nusa Penida during a school camp on Saturday night is still missing.
According to a report by Tribun Bali, I Made Candra Udiana was camping together with 32 classmates and homeroom teacher Nyoman Arnawa as part of an organized school activity. The group had pitched their tents around ten meters away from the edge of Saren cliff on Bali’s neighboring island of Nusa Penida.
Putu Gede Ardana, the head of public relations of Klungkung Regional Police said that the accident happened at around 10pm. Udiana had reportedly been responding to the beckon of a classmate when he lost his footing and fell over the cliff.
In a panic, Udiana’s classmates sought the help of local residents who searched in vain for the schoolboy. Finally, the case was reported to Nusa Penida police station, but the darkness made it impossible to track the missing boy.
The victim’s family resumed searching early on Sunday morning and search and rescue (SAR) teams, armed with equipment to scale the cliff, arrived at 9:30am. The search is still ongoing, but sadly, all they have found so far is a shirt belonging to the victim, which was discovered about 20 meters down the cliff face.
Nusa Penida’s craggy coastlines make for some of the most popular selfie spots in Indonesia. Sadly, several people have suffered injury, or even death, as a result of the island’s notoriously precarious cliffs. Last year, a Chinese tourist died after he was dragged out to sea when a wave hit him during a photo session at Angel’s Billabong, a natural tide pool on the island.
Here’s hoping that rescue teams can find Udiana and return him home safe.
