Tourist Falls 40m From Bali Cliffside While Trying To Get The Perfect Photo

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Bali Search and Rescue teams have saved the life of a tourist who fell 40m from a cliffside in Nusa Penida. Eyewitnesses have confirmed that the injured tourist was posing for photos at the cliff edge when he decided to do a somersault that ended near death. The man in question has been named as 27-year-old Alvalino Kesanda. He is believed to be in Bali on holiday from his home in North Sulawesi. 

Search and Rescue teams were alerted to the situation early on Monday, 21st November. Nusa Penida Police Chief Commissioner I Gede Redastra told a press conference on Tuesday that the incident occurred on Monday morning. It is reported that Kesanda arrived in Nusa Penida by boat at around 8.30 am. Upon being met by a tour guide, they drove around the island and to the world-famous Broken Beach clifftop to take in the view. 

According to the Redastra, soon after arriving at the viewpoint, Kesanda asked his guide to start taking photos of him. His guide, I Komang Gede Subawa, also 27, is a resident of Bunga Mekar Village on Nusa Penida. The report confirms that after taking around ten or so photos, Kesanda attempted a somersault at the cliff edge. After failing to land the jump on two feet, he slipped and fell from the cliff’s edge. He plummeted 40m to the rocky beach below. Despite the impact and landing on rocks, Kesanda survived. 

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Redastra said, “It could be seen that the victim could still move but could not stand up.” It is now known that Kesanda suffered a severe break to his leg, a suspected compound fracture. The Search and Rescue team immediately responded to the call and arrived on the scene at around 1 pm.

However, due to the high tide and precarious position that Kesanda landed in, SAR teams could only get to him by 3.15 pm. Kompol Resastra told reporters, “At 4.21 pm, all series of evacuation activities for tourists who fell on Broken Beach were completed”. Kesanda was rushed to the Gema Santi Nusa Penida Hospital.

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The rescue mission was not straightforward. Due to the position he fell in, SAR teams couldn’t access him directly from the beach. Instead, two officers had to abseil down to him while the rest of the teams remained at the top to winch them all back to safety. The Head of the Bali Basarnas [SAR] Office, Gede Darmada, told reporters that Kesanda was conscious though disorientated. 

The mission remained a challenge up until the point that Kesanada was stretchered into an ambulance. Even once the rescue team had been winched back up to the cliff top, officers had to administer further medical treatment to secure the extensive wounds. The team then had to scramble through the thin, rocky trail on the headland, keeping Kesanda as still as possible, mindful of a possible neck or spinal injury.

Overall the mission was successful, and Kesanda was handed over to the hospital team in the best possible condition considering the circumstances. Bali Search and Rescue, BPBD Klungkung, SAR Samapta, Nusa Penida Police, PMI, and local tour guides have all been praised for their swift and effective action in dealing with the situation. 

Search and Rescue teams in Bali are one of the island’s most essential public services, responding to dozens of catastrophic calls every week. The search and rescue teams on the island have saved the lives of thousands of residents, and domestic and international tourists. Sadly, in the early hours of Friday, 18th November, Karangasem Search and Rescue team was called to aid an American tourist who had slipped and fallen into a ravine on Mount Agung.

The 51-year-old grandfather had watched the sunrise from the sacred mountain with his guide. During descent, just meters from the summit, he slipped and fell 8m into a ravine and could not haul himself up due to serious injuries. Despite a swift response from SAR, the man known by KLH died from his injuries.